Star Lynx: Other Kind
by Mr. Hybrid
Summary: The completion of their previous mission opens up a new world of troubles for the band of mercenaries known as Star Lynx, as they deal with their new 'house guests' and something ancient stalks them from within the shadows.
1. Chapter 0

Disclaimer: Star Fox © Nintendo. Original Content © Me (See A/N)

* * *

 **Star Lynx: Other Kind**

* * *

 **Prologue** : This Imperfect Lie

* * *

It was a good day for John. He had woken up when he alarm went off, had a great breakfast, and traffic was at an all-time low, which meant he got to the office early. Throughout the day, things went smoothly, meaning that he got everything taken care of on time, and his boss had approached him to tell him that he was giving him a raise, telling him that he'd worked hard enough to earn it. Everyone around him greeted him with grins and compliments, and he returned them in kind. He was an employee for the newly formed company known as AtmosPlan, an engineering company devoted to helping incorporate technological schematics provided by Humanity's newest partners into everyday transportation to dramatically increase efficiency. Currently, he had one last delivery to make before his shift was over, and his friend in accounting had told him that it was a file of experimental schematics related to Cerinian fuel tank integration.

Once that was done, he drove home. Currently, his girlfriend had suggested going out for dinner tonight and bringing a couple of her friends. He had asked around, but currently his friends had plans of their own. So, he went home and cleaned up. He brushed back his dreadlocks, trimmed his beard, and washed his face. He had no intentions of screwing this night up. And why would he? Everything was perfect.

* * *

"Any idea how we open these things?" Fara glanced at the side of the pods, then tried tapping the canopy, where the sleeping, Cerinian fox lay inside. On a whim, she called out, "Open sesame!" She was met with a slightly embarrassing silence before she shrugged and mumbled, "I got nothing."

SADIE remained silent, prompting Saru to ask, "Any luck with those files?" The robot nodded, but was silent. Near as any of them understood, SADIE had devoted almost all of her processing power to decrypting the files to get them done within the next few seconds, meaning she didn't speak or move, and save for the life-support systems on the _Livid Vixen_ , most of their systems were off-line.

A low whirring brought their attention for a moment as SADIE straightened up and spoke, "I have finished decrypting the files and have determined that each one of these requires multiple 'keys' to unlock. First is any sort of tissue sample. As I understand it, these pods were calibrated to only unlock for anyone who doesn't have any nanotechnology in their blood, like the Cerinians or possibly any 'reverted' human as the file calls them. However, I do not know how the system would react to other alien samples. It may simply register as an error or lock it down."

Fay rubbed her chin in thought, "Any way we can bypass it?"

SADIE thought about it, "There may be a way to do so, but current analysis of Stasis Pods indicates that any tampering may cause the system to lock down. I remain uncertain about what would happen afterward, but there may be a distinct possibility that lock down may kill the inhabitants."

* * *

The date went very well. Sondra's friends were curious about why a human was dating a Cerinian, to which they had both just replied that it was legal, but beyond that, the night went very well, and when they got home, The wolf Cerinian presented him with a gift. It was a book, a mystery novel that he'd been interested in for a while. He appreciated the gift and let Sondra know. "Thanks for the novel, sweetie."

Sondra's response was to smile at him, "Come on, it's not like you weren't expecting it. I heard you talking about it the other day and decided that would be a good gift to celebrate the anniversary of our relationship."

John chuckled, "Three years already? Wow, the time really flies, doesn't it?"

Sondra yawned, "I'm glad you like the gift, honey. I'll be heading to bed in a bit though. Wanna join me?"

* * *

"I've run through the system scans on the Stasis Pods and noticed something bizarre." SADIE spoke out as Miyu tapped the side of the Stasis Pod, attempting to figure out how to get the scanner to work. "Given the data retrieved from the files, I've scanned the LOTUS Devices in each Pod and determined that one of them may be malfunctioning."

"LOTUS?" Miyu asked, her interest piqued.

The others paused as SADIE explained what she meant, " **L** ucidity **O** ptimization **T** ransfuser of **U** nconscious **S** ystems. The LOTUS is constructed using telepathic conduits to put the mind in a sort of dream-like stasis, much like the bodies inside the Pods. In theory, once awoken, they should feel like they've only been asleep for a few days or weeks maybe. But one of them is malfunctioning and I have no idea what might happen once we wake that pod up."

Miyu looked at the pods and asked, "Which one is it?" SADIE pointed to the one pod that held the human specimen. Miyu frowned, "That's not good. SADIE, see if you can find anything in the files about fail-safes or the like related to this."

* * *

John was woken up in the middle of the night. He wasn't sure why, but recently, he'd begun waking up at night, always at Midnight exactly. At first, he wasn't worried about it, but this being the fifth time he'd done so, he was curious about it. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw something. A blue flash, and for a moment, he could have sworn he saw numbers. His surprise must've bothered Sondra, as she groaned and looked up at him. Although tired and clearly struggling to stay awake long enough, she managed to ask, "Honey? What's wrong?"

John shook his head, "Nothing. Just thought I saw something."

Sondra groaned and flipped onto her back, "John, it's nighttime. You're just jumping at shadows."

John thought about it for a moment, then sighed, "You're right. I suppose I could to talk to a doctor about it."

Sondra looked at him, "Are you stressed about something?"

John shook his head, "Just tired. Go back to sleep, Sondra. We'll talk in the morning." She grinned at him, then adjusted herself so that she was facing away from him.

* * *

A small device slid out of the side of the side of the Pod and Miyu stared at it for a moment. It was a small tube just big enough for her to stick a finger in. In a flash of curiosity, she stuck her index finger in the tube and was surprised when she felt something poke it. She yelped and yanked her hand away from the device, noticing that her finger now had a small cut in it. She turned to SADIE as the robot registered the action, "It would appear that you found the scanner. The first series of locks are opening up as we speak. My best guess is that it would recognize organic matter that doesn't have the traits of Aparoid nanoflesh as safe. However, we still have two more sets of locks to unlock." A holographic display appeared on the canopy glass of the Stasis Pod, showing a line that appeared to vibrate randomly. SADIE commented on it, "It would appear that the second set of locks are voice-activated. Try saying something to unlock it?"

Miyu bit her lip. She had no idea what to say and decided to try what Fara had tried earlier, "Open sesame?" The display seemed to register the phrase as it disappeared and there was a brief, loud hissing as what looked like steam vented from somewhere inside the Stasis Pod.

SADIE analyzed it, "The second set of locks are opening. It appears that the LOTUS device inside this Pod has begun shutting down alongside the Stasis device. The final lock appears to be a straightforward lock that requires a literal key." Right when she finished, a small object dispensed from the top of the pod while something popped open on the bottom half of the pod. The device was small and looked somewhat like a flash-drive or a memory card. Miyu grabbed it and held it in her hands as SADIE scanned it, "The device appears to contain a power source inside it, like a battery. Try plugging it into the outlet on the bottom of the pod." Doing what SADIE suggested, Miyu inserted the device into the lock on lower half of the pod. The pod hissed again and the canopy glass split pen vertically, sliding into the pod and exposing the blue Cerinian feline inside it.

Everyone held their breath for a moment as SADIE scanned the being, "Her heartbeat is stable and her lungs are working. She shows minor signs of oxygen starvation. Not enough to be life-threatening, but fresh air may do her some good."

The Cerinian's eyes fluttered open and she took in the environment around her. She turned her head to the side and made eye contact with Miyu. Miyu only returned the gaze as the Cerinian slowly began to sit upright, breaking eye contact. She paused and took a moment to stretch, almost like she was getting out of bed. She yawned and after taking a few slow, deep, rhythmic breaths, turned to look at Miyu and asked, "Where are we?"

Miyu paused, "...You speak Lylat Standard?"

The Cerinian regarded her with a distant look in her eyes, "You speak Modern Cerinian?" She suddenly seemed to realize who she was looking at, "You look Cerinian. Granted, a bit browner and stripier than I thought. Are you the exception?"

Miyu was confused and offended as she gave an indignant, " _Am I_ _ **what**_?!"

The Cerinian's eyes widened, "I'm sorry. I didn't realize. You have a certain aura about you that confused me." She seemed to pause for a moment, then asked, "What is 'Lylat?'"

Miyu found herself confused by the Cerinian more and more, "Lylat's our star, named after the goddess Lyla. You're in the Lylat System, and we're members of the Lylatian species."

The Cerinian cocked her head to the side, as if she was regarding Miyu, "What of Earth and Cerinia?"

Miyu paused, then glanced at the others. She looked back at the Cerinian and said, "...We might wanna wait until we get your friends up. It's a long story." The Cerinian seemed to become somber, but nevertheless waited for the others to wake up.

Fay walked up to the Cerinian and decided to introduce herself, "I'm Fay. That's Miyu and Fara and Saru." She then gestured to the Cerinian feline, "And your name?"

The Cerinian introduced herself, "I am known as Serrin. I am Captain of the Royal Guard. It is my job to protect the Matriarch and her family with my blade, my staff, and my life if I must." Serrin looked around at the pods near them and asked, "So, who are in the other pods?"

Fay glanced at the others and shrugged, "We don't know any names, but we can tell you what they look like. One of them is this Cerinian vulpine. A red fox. The other's a human. She glanced at Miyu, "That's what they're called right?" When Miyu nodded, she continued, "He's got dark brown skin and black hair that's been made into dreadlocks. Do either of them sound familiar?"

Serrin nodded, "The description of the vulpine sounds like Sabre. He was part of the guard. A metalsmith serving as the apprentice to the current metalworker. He and I were as close as siblings, to the point where I would be proud to call him my brother." She paused, "As for the human, that sounds like John. He was unemployed, last I knew. Lived an an apartment with his lover, and did a lot of parkour and climbing as a hobby. I regret that we haven't spoken more since before we began the Long Sleep. I trust that more pods were recovered than just these three?"

Fay paused, unsure of how to answer. Serrin seemed to pick up on her hesitation, "There _were_ more pods beyond our own... Weren't there?"

The sound of the next Stasis Pod hissing drew their attention toward the next one, where the fog cleared away to reveal the Cerinian vulpine as he stretched and groaned as life flowed through his body once again.

* * *

When John woke up, he realized something was different. He looked next to him and saw Sondra, sitting up with the blanket wrapped around her. He sat up and asked, "Sondra? What's wrong?"

Sondra looked at him, then looked away and he saw images in his mind. He saw himself through her eyes, of him screaming at her in anger and stomping out the door, leaving her and her child behind. The images stopped and John scooted closer to give her a hug, "Oh, Sweetie. I'd never leave you! You've always been there for me and I've done my best to be there for you in return." He heard Sondra sniff and took a seat next to her, "Honey, I'd never hurt you, especially after you've done so much to help me!" He gestured to himself, "When we first met, I was in a bad spot, remember? I had problems and you helped me work through them. Besides, you know as well as I do that even though we can't have children together, I'm just as ready to be a father as you are to be a mother." He paused, "...Right?"

Sondra said nothing, at least until she looked at him and grinned, "I'm not ready to be a mother, John." She glanced at him and was met with a reassuring grin, "But I'm glad you understand, at least." She sighed and looked back at the wall, "But I don't know if my parents are ready to learn that I'm dating a human."

John blinked, about to ask why that was, when he realized that something wasn't right. The moonlight streaming into the room wasn't right. The more he stared at it, the more he realized that there was a slight red tint. He turned to ask Sondra only to see her standing up, clad in what looked like armor forged from scrap metal, asking, "Hey, are you coming or what? We've got only a few minutes before They arrive."

He blinked again and suddenly, he was staring at the streets outside in broad daylight, through the visor of a gas-mask and clad in similar armor, with a shotgun in his hand. He checked the holographic watch projected on the visor. It was 9:30 A.M., but everywhere he looked, everything was bathed in the colors of twilight. He looked up at the sun and saw a black disk that seemed to permanently eclipse it nowadays. He looked in the streets and saw countless corpses, some deformed and horrifically mutilated with monstrous robotic implements that failed to fully manifest before the host was killed, some were even attempting to merge multiple corpses together before they died. He wasn't sure he wanted to try and identify any of the bodies, because he was scared that he'd find someone he knew among the piles of corpses.

He blinked once more and he was back in his room, and Sondra was giving him a strange look, "You alright? You were gonna say something and it seemed like you just kinda lost yourself."

He shook his head, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired."

* * *

"We've got a problem. Even though the rest of the pod's turning off, the LOTUS is remaining on-line." SADIE announced, "It appears that some of the programming for the LOTUS shutdown procedures is corrupted, some of the wiring connecting to the pod's main computer is fried as well and the LOTUS is running on a fail-safe system."

Serrin observed as the pod opened up, exposing the still-sleeping body to the elements. She brushed a hand against John's arm, "It's not just that it's broken. He doesn't want it to shut off, whether he realizes it or not. His mind is the only thing keeping the LOTUS active right now."

Fara raised an eyebrow, "What does that mean?"

Sabre answered as Serrin checked John's pulse, "It means whatever happened to the LOTUS, it's caused him to become dependent on it for some reason or another. It's an addiction, and if we don't get him out of the LOTUS, it'll fry his brain." He moved to Serrin's side and gave them a brief explanation, "Cerinian minds may be suited for such complex mental constructs and interactions over incredible periods of time, but human minds aren't as well suited. Humans are naturally a guarded species that rarely opened their minds to telepathy and other psychic abilities, having spent most of their existence unaware and thus under the assumption that such abilities didn't exist. This means their minds are highly resilient to psychic influence, but it also means that what does get through their mental defenses strikes them right in the soul. When we tested the LOTUS, we were worried that the dreamworlds it created could start to feel real enough that someone hooked up would be lost to it."

Fara bowed her head and sighed, "You know what? I'm half-inclined to say this is all crazy, but I've seen enough by now that I can't really say so or not."

Serrin turned to Sabre, "We'll need to coax him out somehow, convince him that his dream isn't reality." She held his hand, "Are you ready, brother?"

Sabre glanced at their clasped hands and nodded, "Ready, sister."

* * *

John stepped out of the shower, feeling like the king of cleanliness. He grinned and walked up to the mirror, towel wrapped around his waist, to brush his teeth. He noticed his reflection and took a few looks, then grimaced, "You're starting to look a little thick, John." He glanced down at his belly, taking note of the small gut he'd put on. His boss had told him to take the month off for some reason and wouldn't tell him why. He was half-inclined to think it was because of a surgery he was getting soon. He was going to get his wisdom teeth removed and questioned his boss as to why he'd need a whole month off, but his boss never told him. He turned on the water on the sink and was surprised to see the water looked... pixelated.

He blinked and it looked normal. Sighing, he splashed some water on his face in an attempt to clear away the bizarre experience. He looked up at the mirror and was surprised to see his reflection staring at him, standing straight up and disturbingly thin. He held a hand up and waved, realizing that the mirror wasn't showing a reflection anymore. "...It's not real," The reflection whispered. John was confused and leaned forward, trying to see if this was some sort of trick. The reflection suddenly reached out of the mirror, grabbing him by the throat. He grabbed at the reflection's arm in panic, slipping off what felt like something slick. He realized that the water droplets on the reflection's arm weren't water droplets, but clusters of numbers. "This isn't real, John. Wake up." With that, the reflection jerked its arm back, slamming him headfirst into the mirror.

He hit the ground and held his head as pain lanced through it. He held his hand, feeling hot, wet blood soaking it, only to see red binary code covering his hand. He yelled and scrambled to his feet, the towel forgotten. He opened the door to the bathroom and fell into what seemed like a bottomless void, until he realized that blue binary code was beginning to pop into existence around him. He looked around, frantic, and saw Sondra falling alongside him, unconscious. He tried to reach out to her, but was snagged by unseen hands. He yelled out to her as she fell into the void, disintegrating into binary code as she did. He glanced at his outstretched hand and realized that he was likewise disintegrating. However, his code was being pulled upward, and he looked up to see a bright light. He tried to cover his eyes, desperately begging whatever saw fit to do this to him that he could be left alone.

* * *

John spasmed and gasped for air as he woke up in reality. His eyes darted all around the room, strange faces staring at him with mixed concern and curiosity. He tried to get off of whatever he was laying on, desperately trying to wake up from this dream before it became nightmarish. He felt two sets of hands grab him, along with a female voice trying to calm him down. He looked in the direction of the voice and saw a familiar face. It wasn't the one he thought it would be, but seeing her was something of a relief. He opened his mouth, intending to speak, but closed it immediately when he felt the sudden wave of nausea. Serrin grabbed him as he started to tumble forward, comforting him, "It's okay. You're awake now. These people just rescued us and we're gonna be sticking with them for a little while, okay?"

John thought about it for a bit, and the memories. He could remember everything about his 'dream' so clearly and vividly that it was a strange, scary thought that all of that was just a dream. Yet, everything here felt just as real and suddenly, things began to click into place. He was at one point engaged to a Cerinian named Sondra, but he remembered that they were eloping, and he was unemployed. He then remembered the monsters, the undead shapeshifters that stole the forms of those he knew just to try and kill him, and how he lost contact with Sondra, his father, and stepmother. He then remembered Serrin and Sabre, two other survivors, one of them a trained Starwing Armor pilot, the other an experienced mechanic, and being asked to get into a Stasis Pod as a last resort, in the desperate hopes that they could just outlast the apocalypse and wake up to start over.

Seeing as they were definitely not being attacked by those monsters, John seemed inclined to believe that they had outlasted the apocalypse. He felt weak at the moment though, and with his stomach rolling, it was hard to even entertain the thought of moving if only because he was trying to stop himself from heaving on the floor. He felt Sabre's arm around his shoulder and lift him up with what seemed like no real effort on the vulpine Cerinian's part. He heard one of the strangers speak, "Saru, escort them to the medical bay. We'll need to make sure that they're okay."

The ape being nodded, "I'll take care of them." He turned to the three of them, "Follow me. I'll need to run some basic checks on all three of you."

* * *

A/N

→ Original Content (Lyla) used with permission. Credit goes to Tobias Umbra.

→ Whereas the previous story started somewhere around two months after the first one, this one starts only hours after the previous episode. This story's gonna pan out a bit differently. There is going to be a general plot here, but while the previous two were very strictly a "cause-and-effect"-ish plot, this will be more "slice-of-life"-ish by comparison. There will still be an over-arching plot, but it's a bit more relaxed and slow this time.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Star Fox © Nintendo. Original Content © Me

* * *

 **Chapter 1** : The Road Forever Taken

* * *

The survivors seemed to be collectively astonished to have actually woken up in a new world, but at the moment, Saru was preoccupied with doing a check-up on the three. He held up the small flashlight to John's eye and told him to follow the light. Perhaps it was just a stroke of luck that they spoke Lylat Standard, despite Serrin's insistence that it was 'Modern Cerinian' and John's comment about it being 'Bloodspiller's English,' but it made communicating with them so much easier. He made a note to ask about the other languages they mentioned at some point as he clicked the flashlight off once he was satisfied with John's eye movements. He gave the alien a pat on the back and said to the three of them, "Alright. Baring any unexpected complications, all three of you should recover from your Stasis Nap within a week."

Sabre looked up at the ape and asked, "That's it? Nothing wrong?"

Saru met the Cerinian vulpine's gaze and answered, "At most, you've all suffered some minor oxygen deprivation. Frankly, for however long you were in those pods, I'm surprised that worse didn't happen. My advice would be to eat three balanced meals a day and spend at least 1 hour working out to a varied routine every day."

While John and Sabre readily accepted the doc's advice, Serrin seemed to have her mind focused elsewhere, and it wasn't until Sabre snapped her attention that she made a barely legible grunt of acknowledgement. Saru stepped out of the medical wing to contact Miyu through his wrist-com, "Where are we gonna have them stay? Because I'm assuming that their stay is only temporary, right?"

Miyu confirmed, "Only until we can find somewhere that they can stay and at least get used to their new life. I'm gonna try and get in touch with some old friends from the Military Academy and see if anyone's got something. In the mean time, go take a look at the guest room and tell me what state it's in."

Saru was half inclined to ask why, only for Miyu to add, "We haven't really used it in a long time. I wanna make sure that there's at least enough room for the three of them. If not, I'll talk to the rest of the team about seeing who's willing to lend their room." With that, she hung up and left him to his own devices.

* * *

The ape, who had introduced himself as Saru, was a kind person, John had decided. He was still sitting in the medical room, with Serrin and Sabre sitting nearby. No-one had really said anything since waking up, but he would be the first to admit that he couldn't really tell anymore. He knew for sure that he was awake, but he felt like something wasn't right, like he was dreaming and that he had just forgotten something, something that was important. However, when he tried to remember what it was, all he felt was a headache and some old memories from before his Long Sleep. There were a few things he could recall from his dream, the numbers and the Cerinian wolf. Looking around, he decided to ask the other two about it, "Um... Did you two dream about binary code?"

Serrin was the first to answer, "No. The visible binary code was your LOTUS' internal software crashing very slowly due to hardware malfunctions. They aren't normally supposed to try and replicate a life as 'real' as the one in your dream. Sabre and I had to try and get your mind to reject the dream so that you could wake up before the LOTUS destroyed your mind and left you in a vegetative state. We tried to coax you out and pull you back into reality as gently as we could."

Serrin's answer stirred up a sudden influx of memories as he began to recall his dream in detail. He remembered his own reflection attacking him and all of his reality collapsing around him. He put the pieces together and the realization made him furious, " _Gently_?! That was _you_ who fucking busted my face and ripped me out of my dream? That wasn't 'coaxing me out' of the dream, you straight up ripped me out with little warning!"

Serrin stood up and stalked up to him as John got up from his chair, "We were pressed for time and the LOTUS was interfering with our attempts to reach you! If you hadn't given in and rejected the real world for your stupid dream, we wouldn't have had to fight with you just to get you out!"

John matched Serrin's glare as he replied, "So this is all _my_ fault?! Who strapped me into the _broken_ pod, huh?! It's not like I had a choice in the matter! The infected had breached the perimeter and we were out of options! Besides, it did its job, keeping us from going insane from the solitude of our own goddamn minds!"

It was at that point that Sabre stepped in and physically butted into their argument. In a calm voice masking his own irritation, he addressed the both of them, "That is enough! Both of you need to stop bickering like children."

John wasn't having any of it, "Yeah, well I wouldn't be so pissed off if I wasn't being blamed for something beyond my control!"

Serrin growled and retorted, "We wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for your species trying to kill us all!"

"We weren't your enemies! It was those terrorists, and don't act like you're so high and mighty either, because your species had people who wanted to kill us just as badly!"

"They had a point since your species built the nanotech that killed the Prince, but that doesn't matter anymore, every single member of your species is _**dead**_!" Serrin all but screamed at him.

John stomped toward her, fully intending to swing, but both of them were lifted off the ground and held away from each other as Sabre addressed them again, this time a bit less calm, "Nobody is blaming anybody. Now, if I hear so much as a peep from either one of you that sparks a single argument, I will..." He paused, thinking about what he'd do, then settled for, "...I'll think of something, but if I have to get physical, both of you will regret it." He turned to Serrin, then to John, and said aloud, "Agreed?"

John shot one more spiteful glare at Serrin, who made a show of rolling her eyes at him. They crossed their arms and looked away from each other, but finally gave their agreement to Sabre's terms, to which he released them from his telekinetic grip and sat back down, "Now, we're going to have to just deal with the fact that we are in a new world, with new people, and we'll just have to adjust and make do with what we have. That means for now, you two are gonna have to put your pride to the side at least for now and work with the strangers who were kind enough to rescue us." He crossed his arms and met both Serrin's and John's gaze, "I don't want to have to play mediator every time one of you decides you disagree with each other about something."

* * *

"Well, the guest room _is_ livable, but I just wanna know how long we're planning to keep them on the _Livid Vixen_." Saru spoke to Miyu through his wrist-com.

Miyu paused for a moment to say something to SADIE, then replied to Saru, "I'm talking to an old friend from the Academy, he says he'll help us on our behalf. We'll need to go to Corneria though."

Saru paused at the mention. He felt a bit uncertain about it, but decided to go through with her plan, "Where does he live?"

"In Cornelius City, in an apartment on the edge of town. It's about a ten minute drive from the nearest spaceport. He said that, if nothing else, we can leave these people with him and he'll help out." Saru asked her about this person and she explained, "Yaru de Pon? He was one of our teachers. He taught mostly Aerial Maneuvers and a bit about weaponry. When I spoke to him, he told me he'd retired recently and while he is a bit suspicious of the kind of guests we're bringing over, I think he'll be more welcoming."

Saru understood and asked, "So, how long would it take to get from here to Corneria?"

"Given that we're only about an hour away from that Orbital Gate, probably four to five hours depending on traffic once we leave Hyperspace. You could ask SADIE about traffic and weather updates like I'd suggested many times already."

Saru was hesitant to have any sort of automatic update, even if it was from something or someone he trusted, like SADIE. Perhaps it was just a sense of internal paranoia, from his old pre-mercenary life, or a more modern development. Either way, he declined to answer as Miyu addressed him again, "Go and get them and tell them that they can use the guest room until we're there."

* * *

SADIE observed the newcomers with a fair amount of fascination. She, much like other A.I.s, considered herself knowledgeable on most subjects, if only because they could find that information in seconds. These aliens, however, were new to her, and 'new' was intriguing to her. From the argument she had observed however, she had gleaned a fair amount of information that she stored away for future reference. Since then, she had returned to the internal mainframe of the _Livid Vixen_ upon hearing about Warping into Hyperspace. She decided to run a quick diagnostics check on the ship, but found that strangely, she couldn't access the sensors for the ship's plasma engine and corresponding Warp Drive. She found this curious, and to describe it would be to say that it was like looking at a deep sinkhole where a shack used to be. You know it's there, but with a deep enough hole, you couldn't see the bottom.

She sent Fay a notification to check on the engines, then analyzed everything in her databases and in every single line of numbers for any other holes in her coding or any possible breaches. Seeing as she could find none, she began analyzing her memory and storage capacity for the unlikely event that she had accidentally deleted something important. She couldn't find anything else suspicious, so checked the firewall once more, just to be sure. There was no evidence of tampering or any attempts at a break-in, so she finally settled down.

* * *

Fay had the flashlight clenched in her jaw as she poked around inside the temporarily deactivated plasma engine. She frowned as she fished out what was at one point probably a circuit board at one point, but now looked like just a singed bit of green material. She turned off the flashlight and closed up the paneling. She called the others, "We've got a fried circuit board, I should have an extra in my workshop, but it may take a little while."

"How long do you estimate?" Fara asked, having retired to her quarters.

Fay took a wild guess, "Anywhere from ten minutes to a half hour? Depends on how long it takes to find the replacement." She chose to talk to Miyu specifically, "It doesn't look like there _is_ a crack or breach, but next chance we get, I'll need to actually open the whole thing up and take a look to make sure there's no leaks in it. If we're lucky, then the issue is just in the circuit board and I won't have to order parts."

Miyu took it into consideration, "Alright. Once you get the replacement in, do you think it will be safe to make a Hyperspace jump?"

"Yeah. It's only a four hour trip, right? I'll be able to take a look once we get into a stable orbit." She paused, "You're gonna take the _Alcyone_ down to the planet surface, right?" She referred to the shuttle they used for planetary transport, especially when Arwings might raise some eyebrows and a Dreadnought more likely to raise a bunch of guns.

Miyu confirmed it, to which Fay grinned, "Alright, that gives me all the time I need."

* * *

 _Unknown Vessel, in Pursuit of the_ Livid Vixen...

In the ambient light of the cabin, she observed her quarry with mild interest, like a predator shows interest in its prey's movements. At the moment, she was pleased to know that her new ally had done exactly as required and planted a blind spot in the vessel's A.I., rendering them totally invisible to the ship's sensors. The only way they could be noticed was if the inhabitants saw them with the naked eye. However, as she wasn't actively trying to affect them beyond observing, she was content to take a back seat. With the small delay, that had given her enough time to sync to the ship's Hyperspace drive. There was nowhere that they could hide that she wouldn't be able to follow.

She clasped her hands together and leaned against the dashboard, recalling the reason she was pursuing this ship in the first place. On board was a target, a single target that her client was paying her to remove, but the client had specified to have no problem with how many others she had to kill to get to the target, and even included a bonus for certain individuals. She didn't know how he knew about them, nor did she waste time asking him pointless questions. She thought that the team seemed a bit bigger than she last recalled. At the moment, she knew that there were at least seven on the _Livid Vixen_ , four of them being the Star Lynx Team. She had fought one of them before, and at first thought she had taken two of them out of the picture permanently, only to find out that they were still alive and kicking.

She thought back to her client. A real disgruntled and secretive vulpine. Perhaps he had a reason for addressing her under a hood, goggles, and a bandanna. He reminded her a bit of someone she knew, but that was probably just some passing resemblance, no different from how anyone would look like anyone else at a glance, to the layman. When he showed her a picture of her target, she noticed that his arms were bandaged, but what was visible was tan fur, at least what wasn't apparently scarred and bare. It made her a bit curious as to what the target had done to deserve his fury, if it had actually been done to him at all. Regardless, her target was in there, and she was intent on finding a way to get the job done.

* * *

Fara must've dozed off at some point, because she for some reason found herself in a familiar, desperate situation. She was stuck inside the remnants of an Arwing, having crash-landed in some desert she didn't recognize. She had vague, blurry memories of what led her to this situation. Something about chasing down an aspiring dictator and being shot down, with Fox's terrified shout of her name being the last thing she heard before blacking out. She was sore all over, and there was a lot of her blood. She felt lightheaded, and as she tried to pull herself out of the wreckage, every fiber of her being flared up and she screamed as she tried to pull herself out from under the wreckage. She looked around and realized, to her despair that no-one was coming for her. She was alone.

She felt her eyes squinting shut and snapped them open. She took a moment to readjust and took a deep breath. She hadn't had that nightmare in a long time. That had been only hours after she and Fox were working on the last mission that they ever worked on together. Coincidentally, that was likewise the end of their relationship. She had thought that at the very least, Fox would've tried to look for her, but she never saw him again. When she finally found her way back to civilization, she finally got around to trying to contact him, but he'd never answer. She found out later that, having assumed that she was dead, he had tried to move on, and last she heard, had settled with some other vixen, before they had broken up mere months later.

She shrugged to herself, deciding that it wasn't really worth worrying about. She took a deep breath and sat up, stretching. She was still tired, given all the running around recently. Making a brief decision, she fell back onto the bed and let herself drift back to sleep.

That sleep was interrupted quite suddenly by a quiet knocking on her door. She looked up and invited the knocker in, "Door's unlocked." The door opened and Saru walked in. She was admittedly a bit surprised to see him and sat up, "What's up?"

Saru looked around, then asked if he could sit down next to her. She scooted and once he'd gotten himself situated, answered her question, "Remember, back on Earth, when we met that rogue who nearly killed me?"

That piqued her interest, "The same one that almost killed Fay and Miyu?"

He nodded, "Well, I can't help but feel like she's not done with us yet."

"Did you know her during your old civilian life or something?"

Mention of his old life made him pause. There was a possibility that he hadn't considered, but no matter how he looked at it, that seemed too far-fetched. He thought about the situation for a moment, "No, but I don't think we're the targets."

The implications clicked together and she gestured outside her room, "You think our new visitors are the target?"

Saru nodded, "Call it a hunch, but from what Miyu and Fay said, she had stolen an A.I. from Earth, right? Do you think there is a possibility that it's a means to an end, and that one of them, or all three of them are the real target?"

Fara gave a resigned groan, "So that means we can't just drop them off and leave 'em be until we're sure they're safe, doesn't it?" When Saru nodded, she growled and flopped back onto the bed, "It's never that easy!" She took a deep breath to calm down and added, "Why can't we ever catch a break?"

Saru shrugged, "Beats me. Someone out there like watching us suffer."

Fara raised an eyebrow at him, "A bit dramatic, don't you think?"

Saru shrugged again, grinning this time, "'Dramatic' suits me."


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Star Fox © Nintendo. Original Content © Me (See A/N)

* * *

 **Chapter 2** : Our Secrets

* * *

 _Corneria, Cornelius City, Unknown Alley_...

The figure leaned against the wall, near the backdoor entrance into a club. She loved this club, so many people. So easy to find a fool too drunk or too high to protest, or even know better. The only difficult part was trying to find someone who wouldn't be missed, cote-heads, dealers, prostitutes, so on. Tonight was a just another one of her nightly hunts. She smirked in the moonlight, mentally relishing in the feeling of power she now had over others. She was currently waiting for the party inside to pick up. With so many distracted people, no-one would notice her walk in, and walk out with another degenerate, off to some quiet, lonely place.

That was, until she heard two voices coming down the alley and upon looking, she saw two figures. Both canines by the looks of it. One a big, stocky brute of a Lylatian, the other a sharply dressed businessman. The smaller one noticed her and asked, "You lost, ma'am?"

She smiled, well aware of the effect of seeing her new fangs would have on someone unprepared. The snow leopard spoke back in a soothing voice, "No, I'm right where I want to be."

The short one decided to ask, "Are you one of those... er, 'ladies of the night?'"

She rolled her eyes, "If you mean prostitute, then no. However, I have my reasons for coming out to this club, late at night." In a flash, she was standing right in front of the two. The short one jumped, apparently not expecting her to move so fast. She decided to ask the two about their presence, "What are you two doing _here_ so late at night?"

The short one fumbled over his words, "Um, well, I'm William and that's Kyle next to me. We were just heading home and I thought we'd take a shortcut, to save time."

She smiled, "Well, you can call me Laura. I'm certainly glad we had this talk, but if you don't mind, I'm feeling a bit famished."

William seemed a bit nervous, "Uh, no problem. We'll stop bothering you." He was about to step aside when she grabbed him by the sleeve of his jacket.

"Who said you were going anywhere?" Kyle stepped in, the bodyguard trying to break it up before something happened. He was shocked when she shoved him, and sent him tumbling backward. Her sneer widened as she grabbed William's head and pulled him sideways, exposing his neck. She lunged and bit down, puncturing his veins.

Only moments had passed before she dropped William and he crumpled into a lifeless pile. The bodyguard got back on his feet and drew a concealed pistol. Without hesitating, he pulled the trigger. The laser lanced right through her and she stopped in her tracks. She glanced down at the hole in her midriff as if noticing a stain on her clothing, then looked back up at Kyle and sneered, "It's gonna take a lot more than your little flashlight to stop me." With that, she sprinted at him, knocking him down. She paused for a moment, "You might take a little longer."

* * *

 _Livid Vixen, In Hyperspace en route to Corneria_...

"How much longer 'til we leave Hyperspace?" Fara asked SADIE, who took a moment to calculate.

The android replied, "It should take an estimated 2.5 hours for us to arrive within Cornerian Orbit Space."

She yawned. After her chat with Saru, she'd had something of a difficult time falling back asleep. After successfully getting about ten minutes of sleep only to be woken up again by what sounded like arguing from the guest room, she'd given up on sleep and moved into the rec room, thinking that she may as well find something to entertain herself. She decided to turn on the HV.

The first thing to pop up was a news report. A young canine was talking while an image of a club appeared on screen, "-latest in a recent string of murders that happened in this neighborhood. Only, this time, police reports say that this is the first time the victims had been found near this club. This has led to suspicions that whatever has been killing people might not be limited solely to Winchester Street as once thought. Martin Sorenson, the father of the late William Sorenson, now-former CEO of Flyte Industries, has expressed fears that the killer might be, to quote, 'finding new hunting grounds.' Investigations have yet to uncover any further connections between the murders beyond the mysterious puncture wounds on the victims' necks and lack of blood. Flyte Industries, the leading company in starship computational systems, has postponed the release of their latest project in favor of holding a memorial service, during which they've named Calvin Foster as the replacement CEO. The second victim, Kyle Drummond, was a close friend of Martin and apparently served as William's bodyguard. In our next bit, Justin Jackson's controversial album-"

Fara decided that enough was enough and shut the HV off. She stared up at the ceiling and sighed, feeling even more out of it than she had previously. She heard footsteps and looked toward the entrance to the rec room as one of the newcomers stood outside, a bit hesitant. She grinned at him, "You can come in."

The vulpine Cerinian nodded and took a seat on the couch across from her. He held his hands together and for a moment, they both sat in silence before he said, "Thank you."

Fara raised an eyebrow, "For what? Inviting you in? You're free to come and go as you please."

The vulpine shook his head, "For saving the three of us. I understand that we were the last ones to survive, and while I wish it were different, I am grateful that you and your team saved us from the Eternal Sleep." He met Fara's gaze, "I understand that the other two haven't seemed as appreciative, so I would like to apologize on their behalf."

Fara shook her head, "They seem more concerned with each other than us. I'm not worried. Speaking of, I don't think we've been properly introduced." She held out her hand, "Fara Phoenix."

The vulpine offered a reassuring grin and shook her hand, "I'm Sabre. The blue feline is Serrin, and the human is John Vordenburg."

Fara grinned, "It's nice to finally get to talk with you, Sabre. If I may, what's up with the other two? I swear, they bicker with each other more than my parents did."

"Socioeconomic disparity? Interspecies tension? I don't know, honestly. All I know is that I find myself playing mediator more often than not. Sometimes, their arguments change subjects so quickly that I can never keep up. With their most recent one, Serrin accused his species of being the reason she was trapped on Earth and he accused her of being one of those Elitist Cerinians." Sabre bit his lip, "Sometimes, I wish I knew how to better teach them humility. It feels like they won't stop bickering unless they think I might kill the both of them."

Fara raised an eyebrow, "Would you?"

Sabre laughed, "Like I would actually willingly hurt my siblings!"

Fara looked even more confused, "John's your brother?"

Sabre realized what he'd said, "I'm sorry, I forget that you aren't familiar with Cerinian customs. Serrin, John, and I aren't related by blood. But, by honor, we are bound as family. We survived through many harsh trials together, and forged bonds of friendship that can never truly be broken, no matter how much they may fight over petty reasons."

Fara's expression said that she somewhat understood what he spoke about, but she decided to ask, "So, what were these trials you mentioned?"

Sabre paused and Fara wondered if she had hit a raw subject. He took a deep breath, then answered, "When the Nanovirus Outbreak began, John was one of the first survivors we met. He had only survived because he was a free-runner, and was used to climbing and moving quickly. At the time, Serrin was my superior and at the time, she was trying to bring me to the next escape shuttle, so that she could bring me home. After we met, we stuck together for a while, and during that time, we learned many things about each other. I learned about Serrin's opinions about humanity, and her almost endless praise and ego for our kind. I likewise learned about John's history with relationships, his views on our kind and his own, and his body-mods."

That piqued Fara's interest, "John's a cyborg?"

Sabre nodded, "Just minor stuff. He has a small system of supports attached to his spine and a set of shock absorbers in his appendages. He told me that he got them installed per the advice of his doctor after he broke a leg and nearly broke his back from a misstep and a fall. Nothing major, but just enough to aid him in parkour after he recovered."

"How did he recover from a broken leg?"

Sabre stared at the ceiling, "Human medical science had advanced to the point that a snapped femur was treated with about the same relevance as a paper cut. Granted, they had ways of physically mending the bone in those days. Nanotechnology was able to do wonders for them. The nanites that fixed his leg were the same ones that assembled those supports in his body, using an injection of fine metal dust mixed with water to provide the materials. Of course, that was well before the whole outbreak began."

Fara raised an eyebrow, "Why wasn't he affected then?"

"The nanites left his body once they finished repairing his leg and assembling the supports and shock absorbers. He had no need for them at that point. Serrin would tell you that she thought their reliance on nanotech made them weak, and that John was a prime example, but I think it was just bad luck that someone decided to make a nanovirus out of it."

Fara nodded, understanding. It made her think about some of the things that he'd talked about. She thought about what he had said about John being a free-runner. She'd seen some who could jump from rooftop to rooftop without flinching and climb up buildings for fun. As she thought about it, her eyes wandered a bit and started to notice how much he looked like Fox. She shook her head, deciding to change the subject, "So, what's Serrin's story? How did she end up with you two?"

Sabre frowned, "She was the Captain of the Cerinian Royal Guard. It was her sworn duty to defend the Matriarch and her Family to the death. I rarely even saw her before going to Earth. The Prince wanted to help strengthen the partnership between us and humanity, so he made a special trip, with the Matriarch's consent, to Earth as a diplomat. Serrin demanded to go with him because she didn't trust humans in general. The Prince was okay with it, but he wanted someone a bit less biased to go with him. That's how I met Serrin. You see, before we were trapped on Earth by the Quarantine, I used to be an apprentice to a forgemaster by the name of Sondra. She was teaching me how to make the weapons I would later use against the Aparoid infestation when the Prince selected me to come with him to Earth. Serrin disapproved, claiming that I wasn't trained to handle 'savages' as she put it."

Fara groaned, "Sounds like she was a bit of a specieist herself."

Sabre nodded, "I think being on Earth may have taught her that humans weren't savage, but I fear that she's learned the wrong lesson from her experience there. She now seems content to believe that they were schemers and liars." He paused, as if checking to make sure it was just them, then added, "But, don't mistake my critique for disgust. She is an incredible fighter who easily mastered the Starwing Armor when she got the opportunity to try it out. I think it may have given her some respect for the team working on it. She has saved my tail many times, especially when the Outbreak was well-underway. In fact, her position as Captain was rightly earned, given that she rose through the ranks as an undefeated gladiator."

That made Fara curious, "You had arenas and the like?"

Sabre nodded, "It was one of the ways that we settled disagreements in politics. Two parties would put forth a champion they selected and declared a match. The two champions would fight each other until one of them yielded. The game was considered invalid if either champion or both champions died during or after the match. However, while killing was illegal, the rules didn't say that severe injury couldn't be inflicted. It wasn't uncommon, or even frowned upon, to see opponents gain painful scars, or even lose an arm, during matches if the two combatants particularly hated each other."

He paused to let what he had said sink in, before continuing, "The only instance where killing was allowed was when the Matriarch herself declared that match as To The Death. Those combatants weren't restricted solely to blades and axes either. They were allowed ranged weapons and psychic abilities as deemed fair by the Arena Master. Serrin has the ability to sense the life auras of others, which meant it was nearly impossible for anyone to sneak up on her, and that drew the Matriarch's attention, especially considering her impressive combat record. The Matriarch decided that Serrin would fit the role perfectly, with a little guidance. Put simply, Serrin was like a wild tempest, and the Matriarch simply pushed her to control herself a little, and gave her the confidence to kill as necessary to protect the Crown."

Fara took the time to comprehend all of that, "So, arena combat was a political dispute?" Sabre nodded, prompting Fara to avert her gaze and stare at the wall. It was a bit of a hard concept to grasp for her, the idea of two people tearing each other apart just for the schemes of politicians.

Sabre apparently felt a bit awkward about the whole situation as well, "For what it's worth, I've always found the idea a bit disturbing for me as well. Then again, I've always been more about making weapons and armor over using them." He shook his head, "Enough about me though. What about you? Who are you, Miss Fara? Who is Star Lynx for that matter?"

Fara grinned, "Well, now that's an interesting tale."

* * *

Fay looked up from her computer at the sound of the door to her quarters opening. She saw Miyu walk in and wave. "Hey, what's up?"

Miyu pointed upward, a knowing smile adorning her face, "The ceiling." Fay chuckled a bit, then paused as Miyu explained the real reason why she arrived, "I was actually kinda hoping you weren't to busy at the moment."

Fay glanced at her computer screen, "Just finishing a system scan. SADIE was complaining about data loss earlier and I told her I'd check for any bugs."

Miyu was curious, "Find anything?"

Fay shook her head, "No. But I did find some strange code that I think is harmless. It's a fragment from an old program I deleted. I think it's what's causing SADIE problems." She turned to face Miyu, "Have you ever heard of an android becoming a hypochondriac?"

Miyu shook her head, "Can't say I have. What are you gonna do about that code?"

Fay shrugged, "Delete it. No reason to keep it." She tapped on the keyboard for a bit, then closed up the computer and turned her chair to face Miyu, "Now, what did you need?"

Miyu bit her lip, briefly averting her gaze, before speaking, "Well, Fay... It's been a while since we've actually... well, since we've actually had time for each other that wasn't the result of a crisis. I was wondering if..." She paused, blushing. Fay rarely saw this side of Miyu, the shyer side that only really showed up whenever something romantic was on her mind, "...While we're on Corneria, you wanna go out? Hit the town, see the sights? Party 'til the sun comes up?"

Fay thought about it, then grinned, "Sure, I'm up for it, after I check the plasma engine. It has been a while since we've really had time to be together." She paused for a moment, then added, "...Well, together for longer than a few minutes or an hour."

Miyu chuckled, "Well, I do have some time to kill before we actually arrive. Wanna join me?"

Fay's smile was sultry, "Of course."

* * *

A/N

→ Original Content (QuestForce & associated characters) used with permission. Credit goes to Tobias Umbra.

→ I wasn't _serious_ about letting the whole 'vampire' thing go. Besides, I only said that _human_ vampires went extinct. Happy Halloween.

→ Also, this is the great big backstory chapter that expands a bit on John, Saryn, Sabre, and the culture of Cerinia within my headcanon.


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Star Fox © Nintendo. Original Content © Me (See A/N)

* * *

 **Chapter 3** : The Lies We Tell Ourselves

* * *

 _Livid Vixen, exiting Hyperspace in Lylat Orbital Space_...

The planet Corneria, a paradise-like garden world, utilizing environmentally friendly construction materials and methods to keep the world's ecosystem healthy, plentiful, and beautiful. The seat of political power in all of Lylat, and home to incredible cultural diversity and popular vacation spots.

...If you believe the brochure, that is. While most of Star Lynx definitely saw proof of what the planet so often claimed to have, it was almost always the part about being eco-friendly. The people were hospitable, sometimes, but it seemed like a large part of the cultural personality of the planet was Lylatianism, literally the primary religion of the Lylat System. What wasn't faith-based was more focused on the latest controversy in the Parliament, related to the recent welcoming of Eladard's first Prime Minister since the Lylat Wars into government, and the Prime Governor making the promise to aid them in their recovery.

Miyu never paid much attention to politics, but she had met the lupine in question a couple times. He seemed decent enough, once you got past all the cybernetic implants and modifications that were commonplace on Eladard. She remembered a bit about Eladard's involvement with the War, mostly being captured for manufacturing Andross's replacement armada. That left them with something of a bad reputation and she supposed that some Cornerians were still focused on Andross's occupation to forget or ignore that he wasn't the only culture there, but what remained had been permanently damaged by his abuse of their resources, leaving the planet a toxic wasteland filled with defunct facilities and small city-computers and mobile factories that housed the surviving population, itself augmented with various prosthetics and cybernetics to survive the poisonous environment. Geneticists considered it a miracle that the Eladardian gene-pool had survived as well as it did and suggested that their bodies were simply adapted to be more readily accepting of artificial enhancements.

At the moment, however, she was a bit more focused on the task at hand, and that was introducing their guests to who they'd be staying with, with Fara giving them a brief lecture (meaning around two and a half hours) on the bare basics of Lylat Civilization, mostly social norms and a general map of the city they'd be staying in until they were back on their feet. Fara, currently wearing what looked like reading glasses and holding a pointer, currently had a map of a section of Cornelius City pulled up and was gesturing to a specific area, "...and this is where you'll be staying. We know a guy and he's agreed to let you three hang out until you can get yourselves on your feet." She paused, then turned to the three aliens, hands behind her back, and asked, "Any questions, class?" The human raised his hand, prompting Fara to call on him, "Yes John?"

He set his hand down on the desk and asked, "I don't see how the other two would have a problem fitting in appearance-wise, but I'm not like the others. I'd stand out against a crowd like a sore thumb. Is there anything I should be worried about?"

Fara looked up at the ceiling, wondering for a moment, then met his gaze and replied, "You could probably pass for a baldy while you're on Corneria." At his inquiry, she responded, "They're a sub-culture of sorts that likes to shave off their fur as part of their fandom, mostly to show off tattoos and scars, sometimes to show their support for the culture, though people might think you're just creepy." She felt the need to resist grinning at the indignant reaction she got from him, then added, "It's not like we're total strangers to alien contact. It's just that oftentimes it's been hostile intent. The worst you might have to deal with is some asshole who denies service to you over some specieist bull."

John looked away for a moment, then said, "But, I'm not just bald by your standards, I'm..." He paused, trying to pick his words carefully, "Well... my species called my particular skin tone 'black.'"

Off to the side, Miyu, with an eyebrow raised, muttered aloud, "You look brown to me. I think your dreadlocks are the only black thing on ya..."

John glanced at her and replied, "It's a cultural thing, I'll explain it later." He returned his attention to Fara, "What I'm trying to say is, I don't look like your kind, except for the fact that we might probably have similar skeletal structures. People are gonna ask questions, and I wanna know if I'd be safe answering those questions honestly or not."

Fara nodded, "For the most part, I think if you just say you're an off-worlder or a tourist or something, people should leave you alone. I'd suggest that when you're outside, go with someone and try to stay close to them, avoid dark alleyways, don't talk to suspicious people, be aware of your surroundings, all that stuff that I'm sure you've heard a hundred times or so." Quietly, almost so low that she hoped no-one could hear her, she added, "I hope."

Serrin rolled her eyes, looking at John, "You would be _so_ lucky."

John caught wind of that comment and asked in an irate voice, "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

Before either of them could start fighting, Sabre spoke up to ask, "When you say your kind has had contact with extraterrestrial species, does that explain your familiarity with Cerinia? Are your kind still in contact with them? Because if so, I wouldn't mind seeing about returning home."

The other two paused and listened with Sabre as Fara answered his question, "Well... I'm... not quite sure how to answer that... I mean, there were rumors of a Cerinian who was on Star Fox before it's hiatus. I've heard that she defected to Star Wolf, and that she's become something of an independent freelancer since then, but I have yet to see anything that proves it. If you want something more concrete, we did establish contact with the dinosaur natives of Sauria. I think that counts as contact with extraterrestrials, beyond you three, that is." She remembered seeing a couple pictures of the vixen once or twice on the HV with the rest of Star Fox. She decided not to bring that up, figuring it would be more drama than they needed.

John raised his hand again, "When are we planning to leave? Do we need to pack up for the trip to the surface?"

Fara glanced at Miyu, who said, "We're taking the _Alcyone_ down to the surface. If you've got anything in those Stasis Pods, feel free to take them with you, but be ready to leave in half an hour." Miyu walked back into the hall, contacting Fay along the way, "How are things looking with the plasma engine?"

Fay had decided after leaving Hyperspace to take a look at the engine again, asking SADIE to shut it down just for the time being so she could take a better look at it. She'd had, from the time they left Hyperspace to the end of Fara's lecture, roughly three hours to look at it. When Fay answered her, she felt relieved, "Thankfully, nothing else seems to be broken. It's all in working order as far as I can tell. That old circuit board seems to have been the only problem. There's no cracks, no fried wiring, no faulty containment, nothing to say it's broken. I'll run another diagnostics scan on SADIE later to make sure she's alright." Fay closed the paneling up and spoke to Miyu, "Everything checks out. So what's up? Did Saru get into the ice cream again or something?" Miyu told her that they were leaving soon, "I'll be joining you soon."

She shut off her com-link and was about to head out when she turned around and was startled by Saru standing behind her, "Lyla above! You shouldn't sneak up on me like that!"

Saru rolled his eyes, "I didn't think walking up to you was sneaking up on you. But I have something I need to tell you... A couple things actually. First, no, I didn't get into the ice cream. Second, I think you two should be cautious while on your date. Fara and I have reason to believe that someone may try to come after our esteemed guests."

Fay tensed up, "Why is that?"

"Well, we don't know for certain, but we think that whoever stole that A.I. and nearly killed three of us might be after one of them or all three of them." He put a hand on her shoulder, "Just... be careful while you're down there. I don't wanna lose half the team for any reason."

Fay bit her lip, then nodded, understanding, "Should I let Miyu know?"

Saru nodded, "Of course you should. She's the leader of this team and deserves to know about this just as much as you do. I'd leave it up to her whether or not the others need to know or not." He grinned and wrapped his arms around her in a platonic hug, "Be safe, alright?"

Fay was a bit confused by the sudden show of concern, but nonetheless replied, "I will."

* * *

Fay had finally gotten Miyu alone for a moment so that she could tell the lynx about what Saru had told her. She figured that Saru was just being a bit paranoid, but assured Fay that she'd keep her safe if anything happened. Afterward, they went about packing up enough for a week, and were getting on board the _Alcyone_ when Miyu immediately noticed something different about two of their guests, "Wait... Okay, two questions. One, where did those come from? Two, did either of you listen to what Fara said about the general reaction to appearing in public armed to the teeth?"

Serrin, enveloped in the familiar mesh and metal of a Starwing Armorsuit, crossed her arms, "It was standard issue for Stasis Pods to come equipped with Starwing Armor as a last resort. I had my personal Armor stored in my Pod when I was put under. Sabre likewise did. I feel more comfortable wearing this as it is, since it is likewise my only other outfit. If the people decide they think this is scary, then that is their problem."

Miyu couldn't quite believe what she was hearing, "Wha... Now listen, it may be start out as their problem, but it _will_ become _your problem_ when they decide to bring law enforcement down to arrest you. What happens when your Armor gets taken away, huh? Then that means the wrong hands get it! Need. I. Say. More?"

Serrin glared under her helmet, but relented, "Fine, I will go put on those... civilian clothes." She turned to Sabre and grunted at him, "Come on, Sabre," before leaving the _Alcyone_.

John, who was fastened into his seat and currently garbed in some of Saru's old clothes, looked away and said nothing as they left. Once he was certain they were out of hearing range, he commented, "I told her it was a bad idea, but she never listens to me-"

Miyu raised her hand and shot a glare at him, "Just, shut it. You don't need to make snide remarks behind their backs." John stopped talking and looked away, at least looking ashamed. She glanced at Fay, silently wishing that this whole ordeal was over already. Fay responded with an understanding nod as Miyu lowered her voice, "I swear, they're all like five-year-olds."

Fay chuckled, "Feels like we're babysitting, doesn't it?"

Miyu rolled her eyes, the ghost of a grin crossing her face for just a moment as she took up the pilot's seat, quietly realizing that they'd be delayed for probably another ten minutes or so. She sighed and shook her head, "What are we dropping in Yaru's lap?"

Fay looked out the canopy in thought, "Three survivors from an alien planet that can barely look at each other without coming to blows in the hopes that he can help them recover and integrate into society so that we can continue to do our job without worrying about them?"

"Ha ha," came the lynx's sarcastic reply. She bit her lip, thinking to herself, _Fay's right though. I hope he doesn't come to hate us for_ _giving him_ _something_ _this complex_ _to deal with_. She heard footsteps and looked behind them to see the two Cerinians, dressed in civilian clothes, mostly what Miyu and Saru were willing to part with. Serrin looked like she would rather be somewhere else, while Sabre seemed to be taking a liking to his new attire. Both of them were wearing strangely out-of-place collars that led Miyu to assume that the Starwing Armor had some sort of compacting feature she never saw in her previous experience with a Starwing suit. She was close when Serrin explained it as a "Subspace Aperture," whatever that was.

Ignoring that, she told everyone to buckle up and started the takeoff procedures.

* * *

" _Alcyone_ , this is _Byron_ Starport Tower 7, you are cleared to land." The canine disappeared from the screen as Miyu piloted their shuttle toward the large, flat, paved outpost just outside the city.

Along the way, John glanced out the window, taking in the sights. He noticed something interesting right away, "Hey, guys, take a look!" Serrin and Sabre glanced out the windows and followed his line of sight toward the planet surface. Below them was a large mass of forest, somewhat obscured by clouds. The three of them were awestruck by the sight and said not a word.

Fay looked back at their passengers and commented, "Interesting, huh? A majority of cities on Corneria make use of the most advanced technology they have to promote ecosystem growth and reducing pollution as much as possible. As a result, much of the planet's cities actually technically were constructed above much of the forests, save for what was used exclusively as farmland." She looked forward out the canopy glass, "Speaking of, take a look out in front of us."

The trio turned their attention to the front of the _Alcyone_ , where they could see the looming form of Cornelius City. The city had a surprisingly clean look to it, with skycars moving along predetermined routes giving it a busy appearance. For Sabre and Saryn, it's magnificence was something to behold, like seeing similarly grand sights back on Earth or on Cerinia. For John, the city had a haunting resemblance to home, and he felt nervous about going all the sudden, and couldn't say why. Perhaps it had to do with his sudden, irrational fear that something terrible was going to happen.

Serrin was the first to break the awestruck silence, "It's beautiful..."

Sabre nodded, "Indeed..."

The two of them noticed that John hadn't said anything and turned to face him, seeing him staring ahead, mouth slightly open, staring blankly ahead at the sight before him. Saryn waved a hand in front of his face, "Hello? Anyone home?"

John shook his head, "Yeah, sorry. I'm just... It's... It's just... It's quite a sight to see." He really hoped that it wasn't obvious that he'd been lost in his memories. He grinned, "It's a beautiful sight to see. I think I understand what Fara meant when she said this world was a popular site for tourism."

Serrin shook her head, "If only we could show you the Palace back home. The only thing that I think could rival this sight. You would be honored guests for the Matriarch. She'd probably even welcome you to stay in the palace instead of drifting through space."

Miyu decided to reply, "Yeah, but I would rather travel instead." She looked up at the city as the shuttle's landing procedures started. She glanced up at the city, and as the _Alcyone_ landed, she thought about when she lived here, and finding some memories of her own, both good and bad. She stopped reminiscing when she felt the thud of the _Alcyone_ settling and thus looked around, "Everyone got your stuff together?" A few nods prompted her to add, "Good, now follow us. We'll help you get settled in soon as we're done here."

* * *

After they passed through the starport security (and John got a few strange looks from others because of his hood), the group had rented a small skyvan to help shuttle them to their destination. As they drove, with John moving to the back seat, he stared out at the busy city, lost in his thoughts. He wasn't sure he actually remembered much of what his life was like prior to the outbreak, beyond bits and pieces of his love life, and a bit of his time practicing free-running. He found himself staring at the buildings as they passed with part of his mind focused on picking out the best spots for parkour. The only clear thing he remembered besides who he fell for was the one thing he was always taught in parkour, the one rule above all else in his mind, to never hesitate.

He wasn't sure if he'd ever truly feel like he was safe from those monsters in the past, as they still stalked his mind, haunting his dreams. If anything, he supposed he could ask about visiting a therapist once he got settled in. Maybe, if he was lucky, starting over would be just what he needed, try again someplace new. Maybe he could find someplace to settle down, get a nice, quiet job, have a-

He stopped himself mid-thought. While he admitted that he had kinda lost track of his own age sometime after the outbreak, he knew that he last remembered being roughly in his late thirties, give or take the 516 years that the pods said they were in for. He wondered if he could really be considered that old, given that, by that logic, he was literally asleep for most of his life. Then again, there was probably some world-record that he could've applied for back home, if only people were still around. _The oldest human to still look young_ , he thought with the shadow of a grin, before realizing that he'd probably be disqualified for having spent most of that frozen in time. He felt like it was strange that he was still 'young' but already considering something so... he didn't quite have the word for it, but knew what it was he thought of. He wasn't sure if 'old' was the right term to describe that or not.

A strange thought occurred to him as a question, _Could I still even have kids_? He had a pretty good idea that he wasn't genetically compatible with anyone around him now, biochemical barriers and all that, but he wondered if he was still even fertile. He recalled talking with one of the scientists about the pods, some time well before the breach, and the scientist had made an off-hand mention of the possibility of a malfunctioning stasis pod not thoroughly freezing a subject, which the scientist mentioned could kill them by simply allowing those parts to age to death, or cause bodily malfunctions, like sterility. He felt nauseous all of the sudden from the thought of decayed flesh hanging around inside of him. He probably should have asked that doc back on the dreadnought about that. Then again, the doc had said that he was fine. Given that he hadn't developed any mysterious pains, swelling, or discoloration, he figured he was probably fine.

Resting against the skyvan door, he watched as a couple walked by, two children running around ahead of them while one of the parents was pushing an infant in a stroller. Almost unknowingly, he let out a sigh, prompting Serrin to turn around and ask, "Is everything alright?"

John nodded, knowing full well that he was lying and it was obvious to them, "Yeah, just happy to be around civilization again." He hoped that at the least, they'd leave him alone about it until they were somewhere a little more private. The last thing he wanted was to bother his saviors with what he felt were petty issues and have them be dismissed out of hand. He went back to staring out the window. _...Maybe Serrin's right_ , he felt the doubts surfacing again, _Maybe my kind's reliance on nanotech did make us weak_. He felt disgusted with himself, but he wasn't sure if it was because he disagreed or agreed with that thought.

He noticed that the skyvan was pulling up in front of a moderately large apartment building. It looked like a decent place, had something of a '21st century' feel to it, despite the more advanced, modern buildings around it. He realized that this had to be that location on the edge of the city that Fara had talked about. He was a little surprised to see the contrast between the rustic-looking apartment and the rest of the buildings.

His thoughts were put on hold as he noticed that the skyvan had stopped. They'd parked.

* * *

Yaru, the old raccoon, was sitting on one of the benches in the lobby, reading a newspaper when he saw them walk in. His skeptical gaze moved over the two figures trailing them, and the hooded figure prompting an eyebrow to raise in suspicion. Fay recognized Yaru and waved at him, "Hi Yaru!"

He allowed a warm grin to show in reply as the retired teacher gestured for them to follow him as he stood up and headed for the elevator. He paused to tell the front desk clerk, "These people are esteemed guests and will be staying in my quarters. I'd like you to issue them the VIP Keycards while they're here."

That made the quintet pause in collective confusion as the clerk pulled out five cards for the group, all marked to indicate them as VIPs. As Yaru handed the cards out to the group, Fay commented on it, "Yaru, you said you were staying at this apartment."

Yaru chuckled, "I did, didn't I? Well, I guess I should have mentioned that, technically this is my apartment. As in I own the building. When I retired from teaching, the CMC Principle was kind enough to give me a substantial retirement check. However, I decided that instead of just simply building a retirement home, I'd build a little place for other aspiring youngsters to stay while they study at the CMC, especially since it lets them have easy access to extra study help outside of the classroom. Needless to say, I've made a comfortable little corner of the city for my twilight years."

Fay couldn't help by admire the place, "Certainly is a nice place... You seem to be living comfortably."

As they passed by a young avian, he waved at the raccoon leading the group, "Hi, Mr. Pon! You have time to help me with my review after lunch?"

Yaru nodded, "Of course, I've just got to show these people to their rooms."

* * *

A/N

→ Original Content (Lylatianism and associated mythology) used with permission. Credit goes to Tobias Umbra.

→ Interesting side-note, I know less about the roles of Miyu and Fay in Star Fox 2 than I thought I did. From what I gather, _Miyu_ was originally going to be an engineer while _Fay_ was going to be a medic hailing from a family of aristocrats. Knowing that, I've come up with a small explanation for the differences between their characterizations in this miniseries. While they were in the Cornelius Military College, which they jokingly called 'The Academy,' they took a few differing classes (See Below) among other events that somewhat influenced their lives:

→ Miyu first took a couple engineering classes, and while she passed those classes, decided she'd rather focus her skills in more combat-oriented fields. She was also part of the CMC Gymnastics/Martial Arts team, but that was more of a hobby. Her actual last name is Yamaneko, her mother's maiden name, seeing as her parents never wanted to change their last names, beyond talking about hyphenating. She never actually knew her father, and only had what Sakura, her mother, would talk about. According to her mother, they tried to make their relationship work, but in the end it didn't, they drifted apart and lost contact, despite them parting on good terms. She first met Fay at a young age, during their elementary school years. They quickly became friends and around their junior year of high school, lovers. They kept it a secret, mostly due to cultural reactions to interspecies relationships like theirs, not to mention Fay's personal fear of being accosted by a homophobe or a group of them. Miyu's mother was very openly supportive of her daughter's interests, regardless of her own opinions on the subject. During the Lylat Wars, Miyu lost her hometown in one of Andross' attacks and as a result, the only connection to her family. The family name was a reputable, but often overlooked or ignored name, mostly due to the fact that the name was used by a lynx, despite the amount of community service and work that her mother had provided, as many Lylatians were (and kinda still are) rather specieist. She ended up hiding her last name as she was tired of all the pity and charity that she was getting from people that didn't really care what happened to her because of who she was, and thus took the name of "Lynx," a translation of her last name into Lylat Standard. Currently, only Fay, Fara, and Fox know of her real name and why she fights.

→ Fay took a couple classes in medicine and first-aid, but found that she was more comfortable fixing and tinkering with machines and programming than she was with fixing people. Likewise, while she wouldn't say her family was aristocratic, they definitely weren't poor. On the higher side of "wealthy working class" and bordering "young upper class," the Spaniels were profiting off of a small tech company, known originally as "Flyte-for-Lite," which her parents would later pass the reigns of to one William Sorenson who bought it from them and rebranded it as "Flyte Industries," in exchange for hiring her father as the company's spokesperson and her mother as one of the company lawyers. During her time in the CMC, she was trying to distance herself from her parents in part because she wanted no preferential treatment, wanted nothing to do with her parents after they showed their disdain for her intimate interests and career choices, and thus went under the name of "Fay Collie," and no-one really made the connection beyond those who she trusted. She was one of the select few who test-piloted the "Light Arwing" design and eventually got to keep the designs for herself and her team as a graduation gift.

→ Fara came from a wealthy, upper-class family of business entrepreneurs and aristocrats, with her parents being the founders of "Phoenix Interstellar," a company well-known for its work on agricultural advancements and terraforming technologies. She decided to pursue a different goal, becoming a pilot and exploring the stars. Her parents supported her all the way, getting her into the most prestigious private schools to help her advance through her education, although she yearned for more socialization than she actually got, having largely spent her time being brought along to parties held by old, rich, upper-class canines as her only real experience with such. She used to have a brief relationship with Fox McCloud, during their time at the CMC. This was coincidentally where she met Miyu and Fay and after waking up from a crash-landing to find out that Fox, believing she was dead, had moved on to someone else, joined up with them upon hearing that they were forming their own team. While she initially joined out of spite for Star Fox, she grew to like the Star Lynx team and while her mother wasn't happy with her new career as a soldier of fortune, her father promised them a place to stay and financial backing if they ever needed it. Currently, she is interested in learning more about Saru, as nothing beyond what he says is really known about him, and she is thoroughly convinced that he is hiding something.

→ As for Saru... No-one really knows that much about him, and in no small part because of how much he keeps secret about himself. He just sort of appeared one day and applied for a Star-pilot's license and just happened upon Fara as he did. He joined up when he heard about the team due to his skills with medicine and his near perfect aim. He had a stepbrother, Albert Germaine Finch, who he always nicknamed Algy, at first to tease him, although it eventually became something of a term of endearment between the two stepbrothers, at least until Algy was ordered by the SDF's Espionage Subdivision to sever all ties to his past life in order to cover his tracks, no questions asked, and chose to assassinate his own parents and attempt to kill Saru. Saru is much older than he leads others to believe, though how is never specified, leading Fara to speculate that he fought for the wrong side during the Lylat Wars and wanted to atone, but didn't want others to know what he did, meaning he made up his life-story as a cover and someone else discovered the truth, hence why the SDF is after him. At this point, she is convinced that "Saruman" isn't even his real name. He won't confirm or deny it, but would always tell Fara that she'd need to look toward the unlikely or even the impossible if she was serious about learning more about him. She thinks that this is just a distraction tactic, but has yet to convince anyone else on Star Lynx to actually look into him.


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Star Fox © Nintendo. Original Content © Me (See A/N)

* * *

 **Chapter 4** : A Night To Remember

* * *

"This is your apartment?" John commented on the room that Yaru led them up to. He took note of the large space of the room, along with furniture and devices that made him wonder about it. He looked around, "This is impressive. Is it like a luxury suite or something like that?"

Yaru grinned, "Something like that. Fanciful for an apartment, but I've always preferred simpler living arrangements than what someone in my position might choose. And besides, this way, I can still help the kids." He gestured toward the main room, "The chairs all fold out into beds. I imagine it's not the most comfortable arrangement for you all, so if it's not to your tastes, I can rent some sleeping bags for you three."

Serrin asked about their sleeping arrangements, "And how come you get to keep the bed?"

John and Yaru both glared at her, before exchanging brief looks of surprise with each other. Yaru explained, "Simply put, it's because I sleep on a futon that's not big enough to accompany all four of us. This is just a temporary arrangement, so try not to think too much about it. Those chairs are quite comfy, after all." He turned to Miyu and Fay, who hadn't really said anything, "Well, what about you two? Are you planning to stick around here?"

Miyu shook her head, "No, actually..." She glanced at Fay, a bit nervous, then returned her gaze to Yaru, "We were gonna head out, hit the town for a few days. I was planning to get a room somewhere else."

Yaru nodded, "You two have fun now, I'll work on getting these three settled in."

* * *

It was around an hour after Fay and Miyu had left the group in Yaru's hands that John finally decided to talk to Serrin and Sabre about their hosts. He pulled them aside to speak in private, "Do either of you get the vibe that those two are hiding something?"

Serrin huffed, "You're suspicious of everyone. Have you considered that they're helping us purely out of the goodness of their own hearts?"

John hissed, "You don't think anyone who isn't a Cerinian is capable of compassion."

Sabre butted in before a fight could start, "It's fine for people to have secrets. Secrets are a matter of trust as it is. Who says they need to trust us anyway when they barely know us?"

John fired back, "You barely knew me when you decided I was trustworthy."

Sabre shook his head, "Circumstances were drastically different when we met. You were the only thing that wasn't a walking nightmare at the time."

John's response was somber, "...I know." He shook his head, "But seriously. If those two were hiding something, I'd like to know what."

Sabre and Serrin glanced at each other for a moment, considering what he'd said, then Sabre spoke, "Well, don't take my word for this, but I think that Miyu person is seeing someone. I'll bet that's your secret."

John and Serrin responded with mischievous grins, with the former commenting, "Oh, so we get to play guess the match?" He turned to give Serrin a competitive sneer, "I'll bet that she's banging that vixen, Fara."

Serrin held her head up high, "Please, she is clearly a lady of more refined tastes, base as they may be. She wouldn't stoop so low as to want a relation with one of her own sex." She returned the competitive smile, "I'll bet it's that ape, Saru."

Sabre interjected, "Nah, Saru doesn't seem too interested in a relationship with anyone and Fara's not seeing anyone. I suspect it's that collie, Fay."

Serrin stuck her tongue out at Sabre in childish mockery, "You're cheating. How do you know?"

Sabre shook his head, "Unlike you two, who were quite content to keep at each other's throats during our stay, I've been paying attention to our hosts. I saw the way those two look at each other, how they talk to each other and how they speak of each other. While Fara didn't outright say that they were engaged, I think it's more than likely that they are."

As soon as he finished, his eyes widened in horror as John and Serrin exchanged sardonic grins, then turned to him, with John asking, "So, _Fara_ told you all this?"

Serrin clapped her hands together and gave a quiet squeal of joy, "I never thought I'd see the day when someone caught your eyes, Sabre!"

John nudged her in her side with his elbow and smiled, "We should play matchmaker. You wanna try and get Fara's number?"

Serrin squealed, "Oh yes, I should! Then we can pick out a suit for Sabre and send them to a nice fancy restaurant for their date! It'll be so much fun!"

The two of them made comically exaggerated sighs, leaning against each other while staring dreamily at Sabre, before they both said at the same time, "Ah, how romantic..."

Sabre felt that if he was blushing any harder, he'd turn beet red in embarrassment, "Come on, you two. We just talked. That's all. Besides, I'm probably old enough to be her great grandfather's great grandfather at this rate."

John snickered, "Sure you were. And those years in stasis don't count."

It was John and Serrin's turn to be embarrassed when Yaru de Pon's voice addressed the duo from directly behind them, "Now now, it's impolite to tease, you two."

The two of them paled and immediately pointed fingers at each other, blaming the other for starting it. Yaru just shook his head, "Now, that's childish, you two. Own up to your own mistakes and apologize to your friend." He walked away, mumbling about 'young adults and their childish behavior.'

* * *

Miyu exhaled in relief as she let herself relax. The water was perfect, just warm enough that it was comfortable, but not scalding. She closed her eyes for a moment to feel the warmth as it seeped into every fiber of her being. She'd nearly forgotten just how good a bath felt, and would say without a doubt that the bathhouse she and Fay were visiting was definitely one of the best she'd been to. As they had paid for a private spa session, it was just the two of them, truly relaxing for the first time in months.

She let out a content hum, and opened her eyes when Fay pointed it out, "You enjoying that, or are you _enjoying_ that?" Miyu rolled her eyes, only to smile when she noticed the big grin on Fay's face. She nodded and Fay let herself relax into her hottub as well, "You know, I was starting to wonder when we were gonna go out like this again."

Miyu admitted to herself that she'd wanted to go out for some time as well. However, besides the fact that they'd been relatively busy, between crashing on Earth, getting off that dead world, only to have to go back later for survivors, she'd been trying to find a good time to actually bring Fay on a date. While this was kind of an interesting location for a date, Miyu and Fay would both admit that, considering how long they'd been together, it was a far cry from unwelcome. Given that all they had on the _Livid Vixen_ was a shower that was only big enough for one person, a bath was quite a nice treat indeed.

It was roughly another hour that that Fay finally decided to get out. Miyu got a good view of Fay's best assets and whistled, pausing when she glanced at Fay's side. All things considered, she was lucky that the laser wound didn't scar. Miyu shook her head, remembering that all that was in the past, and there wasn't anything she could've done at the time anyways. For a doctor, Saru was almost a miracle worker, regardless of how deep the laser wound had actually been. She wondered if he used to be a doctor and had worked with something like the provitate ointment he used on Fay, and thus knew a thing or two that most doctors didn't know. She looked to the side, deciding that it wasn't really her place to know unless he decided to open up about it. She looked over to see Fay picking up a towel to try herself off and decided that she'd follow her lead. "Hey, Fay?"

"Yeah?"

Miyu began climbing out of the hot-tub, "After this, you wanna go see a movie?" Fay was about to answer when her stomach decided to speak for her, making a surprisingly loud growling that made both of them pause for a moment, before sharing a laugh, followed by Miyu asking, "Or, would you rather go out to eat?"

Fay took a deep breath to try and settle down from her bout of giggles. She turned to Miyu, still smiling, and replied, "Sure, let me finish getting dried off and get dressed." She headed for the locker room, pausing to give Miyu a peck on the cheek and adding, "I'll be waiting outside."

Miyu was left grinning and blushing like mad as she walked out of the locker room, freshened up and straightening out the bow-tie on her tuxedo. She figured that, since they were going to spend some time together, she'd dress for the occasion. As she headed out to the skycar they'd rented, she found out that she wasn't the only dressed for the occasion. Fay wore a red dress and high heels. She kept the large, red bow-tie that she always wore on her head, and as she leaned against the side of the vehicle, she gave Miyu a wink and hopped into the passenger side. Miyu didn't wait and got into the driver's side, with a destination in mind.

* * *

Luigi's Kitchen was definitely more what Fay thought of for a romantic dinner. The place was admittedly fairly expensive compared to the Star Lynx team's usual frequents, but simply being in there was, at least to Fay, worth the price. It was well-furnished and well-kept, and the patrons were generally quiet and respectful, with no-one batting an eye at seeing the two walk in. Fay would admit that it was times like this that she was somewhat glad Star Lynx wasn't as well-known as some of the bigger names like Star Fox or QuestForce. She could only imagine the reaction of Fox McCloud walking through the same doors they just did.

She looked out the window that their table was next to. If that trio had thought the city was beautiful, they had yet to see the city at night. Cornelius City had a night-life that, in her opinion, held the attitude that the brochures so frequently advertised. Everything seemed more lively and fun compared to the city's day-life of business and politics. She soon realized that Miyu was staring at something and turned to face her, "What's up, Miyu?"

Miyu wasn't certain if she should tell Fay, feeling like telling her would change the whole attitude of their date. She looked up and grinned, "Just contemplating."

Fay raised an eyebrow, "Contemplating what?"

Miyu shrugged, still grinning, "The smart, beautiful engineer I fell in love with so long ago. The fact that we're finally spending time together and not as a result of something going wrong. The movie I'd like to take you to see."

Fay grinned, "Which one is that?"

"Metro Android 3: Primal Hunter."

Fay couldn't tell if Miyu was being serious or not, until the lynx giggled and assured her, "Just kidding, just kidding. I was actually thinking about going to see 'Paper Plumber: The Thousand Year Lover.' Figured it would be a nice, romantic action flick. After that, we could head back to our apartment. I rented the lover's suite for the next few days, just for the two of us." Fay blushed and grinned upon seeing Miyu's seductive gaze, unintentionally letting her mind wander to all the things that they'd be doing together. Such fantasies were quickly cut short by the arrival of their meals.

* * *

John yawned for probably the eighth time in a row in the past couple hours. He was starting to get bored with their arrangements already, and it didn't help that he was still trying to figure out how to work the computer in Yaru's apartment. It didn't have the 'qwerty' arrangement that he was accustomed to, instead having everything arranged in alphabetical order. Combined with the fact that the Lylat Standard Written Alphabet had a 'font' that made it seem like another language at times, and he found himself staring at the keyboard in confusion. He had intended to search for job openings (or a therapist), but he found himself having spent most of the day just trying to use the computer in the first place. He shook his head and stood up, figuring he could ask the raccoon about it later.

He intended to ask Yaru about it, but soon found out that the raccoon was out running errands, having told Sabre about getting a bit extra for dinner, seeing as he had guests. He figured that they'd probably need some time to get reacquainted with the civilized life, promising to show them the sights tomorrow. Yawning again, he decided that he may as well check out the apartment a bit. He told Sabre that he was heading out for a bit, and not to worry about him as he'd be back soon and was only heading out to look around the building.

* * *

"You rented the lover's suite?" Fay inquired as Miyu guided her up to their room for the next couple nights, their luggage in her other hand.

Fay found herself a bit nervous all of the sudden and Miyu noticed, "Fay? It's fine. I know these people, they're good at keeping the place clean." She noticed that Fay remained tense, then asked, "Fay, are you okay?"

Fay inhaled, then nodded, taking a moment to recollect herself before speaking, "Well I... I guess I just... I wasn't expecting this." She stopped walking, despite Miyu holding her and muttered, "I... I've never actually..."

Miyu paused, "You've never...?" She frowned for a moment, but gave her a comforting smile, "Hey, relax. We won't if you don't want to. And if you do, I won't do anything that makes you uncomfortable."

Fay raised an eyebrow, "Have you ever?"

Miyu looked away, "Well... No. Not with another person. But I know a few things." She blushed, "I... won't do anything you don't want me to, just so that you know. I'll never try to take advantage of you and I'll never force myself onto you." She grinned, reassuring Fay that she was being honest. Miyu continued, "We could even just spend the night watching those old movies that they always have playing late at night and eat popcorn."

Fay bit her lip, hesitant, "Well... I'm not sure, but I... I wouldn't mind if maybe... at some point we tried something..."

Miyu blushed harder, "Well... I'm willing, just as long as you're okay with it. But we should probably head up there first."

She brought Fay up to the suite that she'd rented, and the canine was immediately surprised by what it held. Perhaps as was to be expected, the suite had a decent pink and red theme to it, along with a recurring heart motif all over the place, especially on the bed. Fay never would've figured Miyu to book something as... for lack of a better term, colorful, as this room was. Not that she minded, it definitely made for a romantic atmosphere. She turned to Miyu as the lynx closed the door behind her, then looked at the room, "...I'm getting the vibe that it's a bit much."

Fay shook her head, "No, It's fine, honestly. It's fitting. I guess I just didn't expect so much from a date tonight." She turned to Miyu, grinning, "I like it."

Miyu smiled, "That's great!" She headed off toward the bathroom, "I'm gonna go change out of this tuxedo and slip into something a bit more comfortable. I'll be back." She shut the door and left Fay to look around and take in the atmosphere of the room. She turned on more lights in the room so she could see a bit better, and debated on what she could do while waiting. As she wandered about, she noticed Miyu's bag standing open, and caught wind of the scarf that Miyu sometimes wore when it got colder outside, and had an interesting little idea pop into her head.

* * *

A/N

→ Original Content (QuestForce & associated characters) used with permission. Credit goes to Tobias Umbra.

→ I suppose I was getting tired of writing grim and depressing or tense and unsettling stuff, so here's a more light-hearted chapter featuring sibling teasing, badass grandpas, tender love, and little things to keep the story from becoming too dark.

→ To all of you who are new here (as in this is the first story in the series that you've read), don't worry too much about continuity, you could really jump in from any point in the series. However, if you _**do**_ want context, it helps to read the previous two stories ("SL: Other Side," & "SL: Other World"). To those of you who've found your way here from "Tales of the Dragonborn," kudos to you if you know what the name of this chapter is a shout-out to.


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Star Fox © Nintendo. Original Content © Me (See A/N)

* * *

 **Chapter 5** : The Morning After

* * *

A/N

→ Ye sensitive readers beware, there is sex in this chapter. I've marked the section that you can skip over if you don't like reading that kind of stuff. Or you could read it anyway, I'm not gonna tell you how to read my story, I'm just writing it.

* * *

It had been a long night for Saru, as he had been analyzing the latest in a series of strange events, and as he stared at the holographic board, he wondered just how the recent murder of a CEO fit into it. At a glance, one might consider that he was just a rambling conspiracy theorist, but he knew better. He had experience with deeply entrenched and secretive individuals and groups who ran the show from behind the scenes. He had even orchestrated something like such before, well before he had ever walked into that office to apply for his pilot's license. He tapped the hologram of the murder victim and moved it aside, "This just doesn't add up. He didn't have any connections to the previous victims." He paused, "Come to think of it, William's the only one of these victims who has a possibility of fitting into the picture."

"Perhaps the murders are unrelated to your existing case. I still wish that you would tell the rest of us more about this." SADIE commented digitally. Saru frowned. At present, SADIE was the only one who even knew about the connections he was building between many of these seemingly random events, and she'd been able to verify that he was indeed on to something.

"Hmm... Maybe. Maybe they are unrelated. Considering that vixen's methods, I doubt she's the one killing all these people. And all the police reports say they died from apparent blood-loss and punctures to the neck, right?"

SADIE paused, "Based on your description of the vixen in question, it is likely that her teeth are sharp enough, but I remain doubtful that she possessed the unaided capacity to induce the level of blood-loss through a neck injury that these individuals seem to have sustained. Perhaps there is a method or a meaning behind these murders. Based on my understanding of these murders, they all occurred within a few meters of the Clubbing Castle building. The killer may be trying to draw attention to the business or to someone associated with it. Maybe they are baiting someone."

Saru looked up, "Wait, say that again?" SADIE repeated herself and Saru's mind was suddenly connecting the pieces. The reason that vixen knew his name and why she chose to attack him with the intent to kill. It likewise made sense to him why she was on Earth when they were. There was only one other person who _knew_ him that could've predicted he'd be there and sent her there in the first place. Knowing this person, Saru probably wouldn't put it past him to either enlist a deranged killer or even kill the targets himself. This person had survived somehow and was trying to draw him out, probably due to a perceived need for revenge for whatever he did. Sometimes it could be difficult to remember, especially when he'd tried to forget it as much as he could. He suddenly remembered something else that he realized was important, "SADIE, that vixen was on Earth to retrieve an A.I. that possessed the capacity to freely leave the planet. Considering what we've learned about the natives from the archives, do you suppose that it could put a blind-spot in our sensors if given a reason?"

SADIE ran a system-check, "...My sensors are still blind. I suspect that whoever it is could easily infiltrate the _Livid Vixen_ without an issue at this rate."

Saru frowned, "...SADIE, I need you to prep my Arwing. I know who hired that vixen, and I know who his target is."

* * *

With a yawn, Fara stretched and sat up. Wiping her eyes, she stared ahead at the wall as her mind woke up. She rolled out of bed and headed toward her wardrobe to get her clothes for the day. She wondered if the shower room was occupied and was about to grab her clothes to bring them with her to check when a familiar voice made her heart skip a beat, "Fara?"

She turned around and saw none other than Fox McCloud standing in the open doorway to her room. She was initially scared over the fact that he was standing there, but she saw the worry on his face and felt a conflict of emotions. She dropped the pile of clothes in her hands and sputtered out, "W-what are you doing here?!"

Fox frowned at the sight of her clothes on the floor, "...I was worried."

"Worried? What do you mean worried?" Fara was confused by this sudden show of concern, given that she wasn't even sure that Fox knew she was alive before now. Fox took a cautious step into her room, then moved to pick up the pile she'd dropped.

She helped him pick up the clothing and set it on her bed, then repeated her question. Fox's eyes met hers and he answered, "I found out that you were still alive and I-" He paused, as if choosing his words, "...I wanted to check and see if you were okay."

Fara felt angry, "Well, you sure took your time coming to see me. I was under the impression that ensuring I was alive wasn't very high on your list of priorities. Especially after I'd found out that you'd hitched up with that fucking hussy only weeks after that mission." Fox looked hurt by her words, but she didn't let up, "Was I so unimportant to you that I wasn't worth spending even a couple hours looking for? Did our time together mean nothing to you?" Tears were beginning to fall from her eyes and her voice faltered as she asked, "...Was I just nothing?"

Fox sat down on her bed and gestured for her to sit next to him, "Fara... Our time together meant everything to me. I just couldn't break from the mission. We needed to stop him and I thought we'd pull through alright. When you crashed I..." He took a deep breath to calm down as he recalled that memory, "...I was scared of losing you. After the fight, I went to the crash site to look for you and... I found your Arwing and your blood and..." He placed his face in his hands and muttered, "I thought you were dead. I... I wish I'd looked harder for you, but I just couldn't get past the idea and... When I rescued Krystal I... I just saw you in her and I thought that maybe... I stupidly thought that..." His breath became shaky as he met her gaze and said, "I thought that maybe I could fix the mistakes I made with her..." He looked at her, "I'm sorry I didn't look for you. I..." He inched closer to her, "I just want us to be on good terms again."

Fara softened a bit upon seeing the regret in his eyes and grinned weakly, "Well, I suppose we could." She grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled his lips toward hers. She was quickly caught up in the moment that she barely noticed the strange taste on his lips before she shoved him onto the bed. She pounced him and kissed him again, this time wrapping her arms around his neck, almost unconsciously begging him not to leave her again as she began moving from his lips to his neck. She moaned against him as his hands found their way to the base of her tail and massaged it gently, then yelped in surprise when he managed to flip them around so that he was on top. He pulled one hand out from under her shirt and gently pushed her head so that her lips met his again. She kissed him and desperately tried to reach up to him and wrap her arms around him just so that he'd stay with her. He released her and quietly muttered, "Sleep well, Fara."

Fara was confused as she felt herself suddenly become tired again. Her vision began blurring and she blinked a few times to try and get the sleep out of her eyes and for a moment, she saw a blue vixen standing over her instead of Fox. Her last fleeting thought before falling unconscious was brief panic that she'd just made out with the person trying to kill them.

* * *

The vixen walked out of Fara's quarters and pulled the loose strap on her black exercise shirt up over her shoulder. She glanced back at the sleeping fennec and for a moment, felt genuinely sorry. She felt bad about playing with Fara's mind like that, but she didn't really want to kill her, or really hurt her. She wasn't worried about the drug she used to knock her out with. It would work its way out of her system, no harm done, which would give her enough time to take care of business on the _Livid Vixen_. She closed the door to Fara's quarters and as she walked away, she felt a small grin tug at the edge of her mouth, _She's certainly a good kisser, though_.

With her DC-15 ready, she walked up to the quarters and opened her hand. A small ball of amorphous, silvery material hovered in her palm, which immediately flowed toward the keycard lock and infiltrated it. The nanomorph broke through the code barrier and the door opened up immediately. The nanomorph flowed back into a small capsule on her gauntlet and she walked into the room, leading with her pistol. On the bed was a small sheet of paper. She picked it up and read it, "You'll have to try harder than that to kill me, I've escaped from worse than you. Word of advice, your employer may be a more worthwhile investigation than me."

* * *

Saru finished buckling into his Arwing as the launch bay doors slid open. He glanced out toward the window into the bridge and saw the vixen run up to it, press her hands against the window, then slam her fist against it in frustration. He smirked, made a 'peace' sign with his hand, then grabbed the joystick as the Arwing was launched into Cornerian Orbital Space. He had to get down to the city to warn the others. Especially to tell Miyu and Fay that he'd just figured out what was going on. As he flew through the upper atmosphere, he found himself mentally debating on whether or not he should tell them anything beyond that. He shook his head, "Even with all the stuff we've seen, they'd never believe me. Best if I just tell them what's going on and leave it at that."

He glanced back at the _Livid Vixen_ , confident that Fara could easily handle herself if that vixen tried anything. He was more certain that the vixen would pursue him rather than waste time with Fara. That is, if SADIE didn't manage to kick her off the ship before then.

* * *

The morning rays of Lylat broke through the thick curtains of their room, casting a thin, pale beam that landed on Miyu's face. After a few minutes, with it, she finally stirred and opened her eyes slightly. With a yawn, she stretched, her claws instinctively unsheathed, and she took a moment to wake up. Fay was still wearing her winter pajamas, a stark contrast to Miyu's undergarments. She would've slept in the nude as she usually did, but felt obligated to keep something on at least, having felt that it would've made Fay uncomfortable otherwise. Given how nervous she'd been at the prospect of sex, Miyu didn't want to make Fay feel like she had disappointed her. The lynx had always figured that she'd say so if she was ready to take that next step.

That wasn't on her tired mind at the moment, but she definitely felt a bit like she'd been a bit too forward last night and put Fay into an uncomfortable position. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and swung her legs around the side of the bed. She decided that some tea and a shower might wake her up.

As soon as Miyu had left the room, Fay glanced toward the small kitchen as Miyu stood there, half-asleep and making her tea. With that, she carefully began putting her plan in motion, going as quietly as she could to keep Miyu from suspecting anything.

Waiting for her tea to finish, Miyu decided to check up on Fay. As soon as she walked into the room, her eyes met Fay's seductive gaze as she leaned against the many pillows on the bed and grinned, "Happy birthday, Miyu." If she wasn't fully awake before, she certainly was now, gazing upon Fay's unclothed, well-built body, before settling on the large, red bow that covered her chest. Miyu was speechless and just stared for a long time, before Fay finally got her attention, "Hey. Corneria to Miyu, you still with us?"

Miyu shook her head and nodded, "I'm just... wow..." She finally managed to get out of her stupor and took a moment to ask, "So... did you have this planned right from the beginning?"

Fay shook her head, her grin fading, "No. I... I really was nervous last night." She grinned again, "But, well, I saw your scarf and then I remembered what today was and figured that maybe we'd both like it more if this was how we celebrated it."

Miyu felt herself blushing as she asked, "So... you're not nervous today?"

Fay blushed a bit herself, "Well... I am but... I..." She sighed, "I'm only nervous because it's my first time. But there's no-one I trust to respect me and love me more than you. Miyu..." Fay gave her a gentle smile, "I love you."

Miyu wasn't quite certain how to react to Fay's declaration. She certainly loved Fay, and that much was not being questioned. She just wasn't certain how to feel about having sex with her. Mostly, it was a matter of boundaries. Fay was genuinely nervous about the prospect last night, but it seemed like today, she was willing to give it a try. Her train of thought was interrupted by Fay asking, "Hey, you gonna leave me hanging? Come unwrap your present, birthday girl."

Miyu giggled a bit, gazing at Fay with a mischievous grin, "If you say so."

* * *

|-/-\\-/-\\-|

* * *

She walked toward the bed and climbed onto it, carefully straddling Fay, giving her a direct view of the large red bow that her scarf had been tied into. She pulled gently on the red loops, untying the scarf and exposing Fay in all her raw beauty. Miyu's lips curled into a smile at the sight, but she paused and met Fay's eyes. Fay gave her an approving smile and Miyu moved in for a kiss. As their lips met, Fay slid onto her back, guiding Miyu with her. Miyu let go of her mouth for a moment and kissed her on the cheek, moving toward her neck. Fay's arms managed to find their way around her lover's back, grabbing at her bra to try and undo it.

Miyu felt Fay's hands fumbling with her bra and carefully sat up. "Here, let me," She muttered as she quickly undid the straps and in one swift motion, set the bra aside and returned her attention back to Fay. She leaned in and kissed Fay on the neck, gently biting her and tugging on the fur of her neck, eliciting a contented hum from Fay, as one hand found its way down toward the base of Miyu's short tail. Experimenting, she massaged and scratched the spot, prompting a pleasantly surprised mew from Miyu. With an exhale, she rested her head on Fay's shoulder and purred, content. Fay maneuvered the purring lynx on top of her up a bit, deciding to reciprocate. She gave Miyu a tender kiss on the neck and brought her free hand to gently squeeze Miyu's right breast. Miyu hummed in pleasure as she leaned forward to grab Fay's mouth in another kiss. Fay eagerly accepted as Miyu's rough tongue brushed against her own. She let go of Miyu's breast and reached for her underpants. Miyu noticed and released Fay's lips, choosing to kiss her cheek, and then moving down to her neck while her left hand moved to help Fay remove that piece of clothing.

Miyu, now fully unclothed, decided to try something. She carefully adjusted Fay's legs so that the latter was now straddling her, then lifted herself and her lover up into an upright position, getting an excited yelp from Fay. Miyu took a moment to admire her. Fay had always been the taller of the duo by a few inches, in fact Falco was probably the only person she knew that was taller than Fay. But now, with this position, she seemed to tower over Miyu. She gave Miyu a warm smile as the lynx tried to think of what to do next. She grinned as an idea popped into her head. Wrapping her arms around Fay's waist, she started grooming Fay's chest. Fay hummed, enjoying the feeling of Miyu's tongue against her breasts. Almost unconsciously, she began rhythmically thrusting her hips against Miyu's body. Miyu, in response, focused her attention on Fay's nipples, her hands wandering down Fay's back to gently squeeze her rear. Miyu, instinctively, thrust upward, matching Fay's rhythm. Fay managed to slip a hand in between the two of them, balancing herself with her other arm wrapped around Miyu's back, reaching right for her crotch. Miyu gasped when she felt her fingers brush against the sensitive flesh. She locked eyes with Fay and a satisfied grin met her gaze. She decided to return the favor, holding onto Fay, she maneuvered her free hand into a better position with which to please her lover.

Curious, Miyu tried inserting a finger, getting a surprised, excited yelp out of Fay. With a grin, she tried slipping another finger in, thrusting her hand in and out, slowly. Fay was quickly overcome with pleasure that she seemed to forget about pleasing Miyu, gripping the lynx's shoulders and letting out a contented hum. It was only moments later that Fay gasped as she climaxed, startling Miyu a bit. Fay laid back down on the bed, panting heavily as she took some time to recover. She felt herself trembling and slowed her breathing down, feeling sweaty and a bit numb. She felt Miyu's concerned gaze and gave her the thumbs-up. "That was awesome," she panted. Miyu seemed relaxed and smiled. Fay felt a small surge of strength and asked, "Now, may I return the favor? I wanna try something."

Switching positions with Fay, Miyu was a bit surprised when Fay positioned herself with her face between Miyu's legs. She shivered, as she could feel her lover's warm breath against her flesh. She felt something press against her and bit back a grunt as she realized what Fay was doing. She couldn't see directly what was going on, but she could guess what Fay was doing when she felt something warm and soft penetrating her. Arcing her body instinctively, her legs crossed over Fay's back, as if trying to force her tongue deeper inside. It was moments in reality, but it felt like ages as Miyu felt herself tense up, the pressure building up, and finally let out a howl of ecstasy as she reached her limit.

* * *

|-\\-/-\\-/-|

* * *

It was roughly an hour before either of them had enough strength to actually sit up, to which Miyu finally asked, "So... how was it? For your first time?"

Fay grinned, "I..." She seemed a bit lost trying to describe how she felt, "It was wonderful, for my first time." She held Miyu's hand, content, "Happy birthday, Miyu."

Miyu chuckled, "Quite a present indeed. Thanks, Fay." She moved to get up, "I'm getting in the shower, you're welcome to join me."

Fay shook her head, "My legs are still shaky. I think I'll wait until you're done." She winked at her, "Love ya!"

Miyu nodded, "I promise not to take all the hot water, then. Love you too!" With that, she blew Fay a kiss, then walked toward the bathroom, and realized that, in the throes of their passion, she'd left her tea on the counter in the kitchenette. It was probably super strong now. She winced at the thought, but put it aside, deciding that she'd just make another cup when she got out.

* * *

When Fara came to, she realized that there was something wrong. She was tied to something, in a strange place that she knew wasn't on the _Livid Vixen_ , and standing in front of her was the same blue vixen that she'd seen earlier. Her arms were crossed, and next to her was a translucent, blue hologram of a sphere with a glowing dot in the center. The room was dark, so Fara couldn't get a good look at the vixen. The vixen cut straight to the chase, "Now that you're awake, there are some questions I'd like to ask you."

Fara remained, and the vixen seemed amused, "Defiant? That won't really matter. I will know whether you're lying or telling the truth, so go ahead and make this easy for me, will you?"

Fara snarled, "And if I don't, you'll kill me. That's how that works, right?"

The vixen shrugged, "No sense to be killing you when you're not my priority. Now, what does Saru know about my employer?"

Fara looked confused, "Why is that important?"

The hologram vibrated as a mechanical voice spoke, "Mistress, you aren't seriously considering what that note said, right?"

"Zip it." The vixen returned her attention to Fara, "My employer is a Cornerian of... dubious intentions. He's hired me to kill Saru, and it's been brought to my attention that he's not the only one hiding something." The vixen leaned in, close enough that Fara could barely make out the shape of her features, "Did Saru ever share anything about this person with you?"

Fara was tempted to spit in her face, but refrained and simply looked away. She couldn't think of anything off the bat that rung any bells. Saru had been quite tight-lipped about his past, and she was inclined to think that he may have committed some kind of crime in his past that he was keeping secret. The vixen stood up straight, "So, he shared nothing with you? Pity, it would've made my job much easier." She paused, as if waiting for the A.I. to say something. When it said nothing, she decided to ask, "Next question. Have you ever encountered anything that may have indicated that someone was after him before me?"

"Why are you so interested in him, huh? Did your employer ever tell you why he wanted you to kill my teammate so badly?" Fara growled at the vixen, who sighed.

"Put simply, the note he left for me came with an encryption that led to some... intriguing information about this person. Information that, when I asked my employer about, he felt was worth threatening to end my contract over. Clearly, there's more to this than meets the eye, so I'd like to know more."

Fara seemed interested, but her interest soured when she recalled how she ended up here, "And that involves playing with my mind and body, just to get me here?"

The vixen laughed, "Did you think I actually brought you to my ship? That would be an unnecessary security compromise. And, seeing as you know nothing that helps me, I'll be sending you on your way." With that, she tapped Fara on the nose. Fara felt the sensation of slipping away, falling into a darkness, with the vixen's final words to her echoing in her head, "Tell Saru I'll pay him a visit soon."

Her eyes snapped open and for a moment, she panicked as shadows danced across her vision, before she finally forced breath into her lungs and shot upright. She looked around the room and recognized it as her room. She was still in her pajamas, and her folded clothes were still stacked neatly on the bed. She looked around and muttered, "What the Hell?"

SADIE's voice startled a scream out of her when the A.I. asked, "Are you feeling well?"

Fara took a moment to regain her wits and replied, "Yes! I'm fine! What happened?"

SADIE recalled the events that happened, "After you were rendered unconscious, the intruder began searching for Saru. He was able to escape while the intruder was occupied with you, however. I was going to deploy intrusion countermeasures on the assassin, but I was occupied by a sudden attack on my firewall. I fended it off, but the purpose of the attack appeared to be solely to cause a distraction, and the assassin escaped. I have been unable to locate the assassin's ship, however I've analyzed the code used to attack my firewall and have since discovered similar code infecting my systems. I should be able to repair my coding within a few hours, during which I may be able to locate any broadcast that holds that particular code in it."

Fara sighed, "...Dammit! I'm not sure how, but that vixen knows something about him that we don't!" She tried to get up and stumbled, falling and catching herself on her dresser, "I've gotta get to him!"

The door to her room closed by itself and locked. SADIE then spoke to her, "I'm sorry, but I cannot allow you to leave when we are both compromised." Fara was confused as the A.I. continued, "I will need you at full strength to defend the ship in the event that we are attacked again. You will need me at full strength to properly assist you with continuing the investigation."

That piqued her interest, "Investigation? Into what?" SADIE remained silent, prompting Fara to demand, "What has he been hiding from us, SADIE?"

The door to her room unlocked and SADIE answered, "A lot."

* * *

A/N

→ Original Content (Named weapons) used with permission. Credit goes to Tobias Umbra.


	7. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Star Fox © Nintendo. Original Content © Me (See A/N)

* * *

 **Chapter 6** : Conspiracy

* * *

"Mistress, are you certain it was a good idea to let her live? Her team will likely be wary of you from now on. They'll be more alert in general." The A.I. inquired as the vixen sat on the small sleeping bag that she had.

The vixen stared at the bland wall across the small room from her, "Priorities change. Right now, I'm more curious about what's in our employer's head, rather than his target."

The A.I. 'tilted' itself in curiosity, "If I may make a suggestion, perhaps we should continue our pursuit of our target and extract any information he may have? I know you were thinking about doing that anyway. I just think we should do so before pursuing anything rash, like endangering ourselves further."

The vixen glared at the holographic representation, "Smart-ass." She crossed her legs and placed her hands on her knees, closing her eyes and focusing. Her telepathic abilities, she'd discovered, could be expanded somewhat when she meditated. Whereas previously, she could just barely hear the white noise from the collective population of a world, she found that this A.I., possessing an arcane capacity of an ill-defined sort, could further augment her own abilities to funnel out some of the unimportant thoughts to search for particular individuals.

She could feel cold, slick tendrils sliding through her fur, not quite burrowing into her skin, but synchronizing with her mental rhythms on contact with her spine, neck, and the back of her head. The A.I. focused her mental scan, searching for the target in question on the world below. _Corneria_ , she thought to herself with a small amount of disdain. She had nothing against the world itself, or even really its people, but her past caused her to have some negative feelings associated with the culture of the world. This was quickly pushed out of her mind as the A.I. reminded her of her objective.

As she searched, she soon came across something intriguing. It was a trio of odd mind-forms that stood out for some odd reason. Two of them brought about a vague sense of familiarity, but the third one was entirely alien to her. The A.I. tried to remind her of her objective, but she insisted on investigating. To satiate her curiosity, the A.I. provided a brief mental surge, and soon the vixen found herself standing in that room. It was early morning, no-one in the room was awake yet. She glanced around the room. It was an apartment, and by the looks of it, an expensive one. She couldn't quite see where the three individuals that piqued her interest were, but was startled by a door opening behind her. An old raccoon Cornerian shuffled in, a cup of fresh coffee in his hands. His eyes were open, but drooping. It was clear that he was tired, probably from working on something overnight. He seemed to stare right in her direction, but made no acknowledgement that she was there. She was relieved, thankful that he couldn't see her astral projection.

She felt a sudden pain in the back of her head and was forcefully pulled back into her body, back on her ship. She fell backwards and hit the floor, "Dammit!" Clutching the back of her head, she curled up instinctively.

The A.I., after a few seconds of inactivity, finally managed to speak, "...There was something interfering with our Astral Projection. I was forced to pull you back before it could do any harm. Are you alright, Mistress?"

The vixen managed to sit up, "I'm fine. Just a little dizzy. Let's try again."

The A.I. disagreed, "I think we should try and land, first. You should rest while we do. I don't wish to anger you, but I won't risk losing you to whatever interfered with us. The closer we can get, the easier it might be to slip past that interference." The A.I. paused, before adding, "Perhaps next time, we should focus more on our objective than the idle thoughts of an old raccoon."

As the vixen laid down on the sleeping bag, she flipped the A.I. off, to which it just muttered as it set their starship to autopilot, "I'm only looking out for your safety..."

* * *

John awoke with a start, shaking himself out of his nightmares and struggling to control his breath. After a few moments, he glanced around, reminding himself of where he was. He was safe, accompanied by the two people that he trusted more than anyone else. There were no nanovirus monsters trying to break in and kill him. He wasn't trapped in some rickety old shack by himself, all alone. He wasn't crammed into some malfunctioning pod that plunged him into some false reality. He was in an apartment, with two people who he trusted dearly, far away from where they could get him. He felt tears beginning to stream down his face and his breath caught in his throat. John didn't even know why he was on the verge of breaking down, but he tried to keep himself together, wrapping his arms around his legs and burying his face in his knees.

"John?" A feminine voice caught his attention, and he looked up to see Serrin, sitting just across from him, and looking concerned. From her tussled fur and somewhat droopy eyes, he figured that she'd woken up because of his fit and was a little irritated. Nonetheless, she asked him, "Are you alright?"

He took a moment to recollect himself, before nodding, then shaking his head. Serrin scooted closer to sit next to him, "What's wrong?"

John took a deep breath and, in a shaky voice, answered, "I... I'm having nightmares..." He looked away, feeling ashamed, "I wish things could go back to the way they were."

Serrin placed a hand on his back and replied, "I know. I feel the same way. But we'll just have to make do with this for now. I'm sure you'll get used to it."

John wasn't sure he ever really would, but he nodded anyway, "...I'll do what I can..."

Serrin grinned, "Now, I'm a grumpy cat if I don't get enough sleep, so just try to put those things out of your head for now, and we'll see about touring the city tomorrow. Maybe find something interesting while we're out, huh?"

John nodded, and curled back up on the sleeping bag he'd set up a while ago, not feeling tired, but at least a bit better about talking to someone.

* * *

A few hours had passed since she woke up this morning, and since then, Fay had finally found the strength to get out of bed, clean herself up and slip into something a bit more casual than the fancy dress she wore last night for their date. Currently, she was sitting just across the table from where Miyu sat. The lynx was being somewhat uncharacteristically silent, staring into her tea while waiting for it to cool down a bit, and it made Fay a bit nervous. She asked, "Is everything alright?"

Miyu looked up and nodded, giving her a faint grin, "I'm fine. I'm just feeling a bit tired."

Fay wasn't entirely convinced, "I don't doubt that. It was quite a workout." She leaned forward a bit, "But I've practically lived with you my whole life, Miyu. I know when something is bothering you."

Miyu frowned, before glancing out the window, "I guess I'm just feeling a bit... I don't know how to best describe this... But it's like an intuition."

Fay tilted her head in curiosity, "Intuition?"

Miyu shrugged, "Just a passing feeling. Just an irrational notion that something bad will happen."

Fay shook her head, "Miyu, you don't need to worry about it. It seems like you've been more anxious lately." Miyu looked at her, then looked away, ashamed, to which Fay added, "It's your birthday, Miyu! Try to enjoy it a little!"

Miyu sighed, "That might be a bit difficult." At Fay's inquiry, she hesitated, but after looking around, she finally gave in, "You remember the War? The bombing runs in particular?"

Fay was a bit surprised, "Kind of a dark topic to think about on your birthday, Miyu. What happened?"

Miyu took a moment to prepare herself, "Well, one of the bombs had dropped on my home-town. Remember? And my mother..." She took in a deep breath to hold back her tears, "They found her body. She was crushed under debris from the blast... And very few people seemed to even acknowledge her. She was just a statistic to them, and me? I was just another orphaned soldier barely even noticed by my unit. This all happened only three days after my birthday. You know how I celebrated that one? You and I had a video chat with her to celebrate." She gave a small smirk, "She was still overjoyed about me having you as a lover, remember? She wanted us to come over to her house, but we were halfway across the system. The bombing run took us by surprise, I know, but I wish I could've done something about that. That video chat was the last time I ever saw her alive."

Fay felt her chest tighten, "Oh Miyu... I'm sorry. I knew she'd been killed by the bombs, but I didn't realize that it was that soon after that." She reached out and held Miyu's hand, "How come you've never talked about it before?"

Miyu met her gaze, then looked away, "Because I keep trying to be strong. For the team. You know me well, but how are Fara and Saru supposed to look up to me as their leader if my birthday makes me wanna break down into a sobbing mess?" She shook her head, "It hasn't bothered me for a while, but all this recent stuff has had me on edge, what with almost losing you and all that."

Fay saw a couple tears fall and felt Miyu's hand tighten around her own as she wiped the tears from her eyes. The canine gave her a reassuring squeeze and replied, "Well, it's alright to remember the bad things, but don't let them ruin the good things. After all, we've had many pleasant experiences since then, and I think this morning was definitely one of them. Wouldn't you agree?"

Miyu nodded, blushing, "Yeah, it was a great experience."

Fay gave her a beaming smile, "Cheer up, Miyu. Tell you what. Once we finish up breakfast here, let's go out and just do nothing but have fun, alright? I think it would be a better way to spend the day than to just focus on the past."

Miyu took a moment, before nodding and saying, "Alright, but it's my treat, so I'm paying."

* * *

She hated the sunlight, it made her powerless, made her feel like she was burning despite all appearances to the contrary. However, she had a reason to be out during the day. The snow leopard, hidden in the shade of an alley, sneered when she saw two Lylatians leave the hotel and get in their skycar. She could smell it, they were lovers. The thought just made her hungry. The blood of lovers, while nothing special biologically, had a certain mental effect on her that she desired. It was that feeling of heartbreak that her victims' partners felt when she killed. Her superiors had pointed her in the direction of these two, she she assumed that they wanted these two dead. She would oblige, but couldn't help herself. She wanted to have a little fun with them before she killed them. Perhaps it was the fear that gave her satisfaction in doing so. She chuckled to herself, "They are going to be the best prey I've ever hunted." With that, she walked further into the alley, staying to the shade so she could avoid drawing attention to herself.

* * *

"Hey, John! Get up!" John mumbled and flipped onto his side, acknowledging the voice and whatever was poking him in the side, but clearly not wanting to do what Saryn wanted. In response, she poked him again, a little harder, "You're gonna miss breakfast." He refused to comment and kept his eyes shut, trying not to think about the delicious aroma that his traitorous nose had detected. Serrin, clearly fed up with him, commented, "Alright, I guess we'll go tour the city without you!"

That finally got him up, as John sat upright, eyes still shut, and muttered, "Alright, I'm up."

After a few minutes spent cleaning up and getting dressed, he followed his nose into the kitchenette, where he found a considerable amount of various breakfast items laid out on the counter. Yaru soon appeared with a cup of coffee in hand and a chef's apron over his clothes. He grinned at John and gestured for him to sit at the table.

After breakfast, Yaru had taken their dishes to be washed, When he came back, the old raccoon sat down at the table, seemingly a bit surprised. "Damn. I figured you all had an appetite about ya, but you," He gestured to John, "ate enough for three people."

John shrugged, "Everything tastes better when bricks of flavorless nutrient matter are all you've had to eat for..." He frowned and turned to Serrin, "How long was it? Two years?"

Serrin frowned, "I... don't remember. I thought it was three years?"

Sabre shrugged, "I was under the impression it was like a year and a half."

John looked down at the table, "...My birthday probably passed by and all I did to celebrate was worry if I was gonna make it through that day and wake up for the next." Crossing his arms on the table, he rested his head on the table and muttered, "I don't really know how old I am anymore."

Yaru, feeling awkward about all the negative emotions now present in the room, decided to try and lighten the mood, "Well, we have a big day ahead of us. I'm planning to head downtown, maybe we can stop by the mall or something like that."

Mention of going out did what he'd hoped to accomplish and got their attention. Serrin gave him a soft grin, "I wouldn't mind going out for a stroll."

* * *

John peeked out from under his hood. He was still in the skycar, waiting for the others to get back. Serrin and Sabre had wanted him to stick with them, but he'd politely declined. He figured that they'd have fun in the mall while he tried to figure out what he was going to do with his life. He knew that this issue couldn't be avoided, but he hoped that he could try and at least stay on top of this however he could. He wasn't entirely sure he was ready to face society again.

It was more of an apprehension than any real fear that held him back. He did want to try and become comfortable with being social again, but there was just something holding him back. He wasn't entirely sure what that apprehension was coming from. He had figured that maybe some time alone could help him pinpoint that apprehension. While he never really practiced it before, he did find himself entertaining the idea of meditation. He found himself yawning at the thought. It wasn't that meditation bored him, but every time he did try to start doing so, he'd end up falling asleep rather than actually meditating. He checked the time. They'd been in the mall for half an hour now. John's eyelids were drooping and he decided that a nap couldn't hurt.

* * *

It took him a moment before he realized that he definitely wasn't dreaming. However, he wasn't awake either. He knew that. John looked around. The area he was in was some kind of nondescript black void, with a dark fog all around. He didn't feel endangered, nor did he feel safe. If anything, he felt confused. And after a moment, he realized he wasn't alone in this place. There was someone else here, a presence distinctly familiar, but at the same time, foreign enough that he wasn't sure who was there.

The other entity must've realized that he was there, as a figure appeared from the shadows, garbed in a black cloak with a hood obscuring her face. The general structure seemed humanoid, but a quick glance at what he could see revealed that she had a tail, or at least the impression of one under the cloak. The figure approached him and spoke first, "How did you get here?"

John looked around, uncertain, "Where am I?"

The figure seemed irritated, "How could you not know where you are? You wouldn't just find me by accident, psychic."

John looked down at himself, seeing that he looked more like a vaguely humanoid, glowing mass than his usual self, "Psychic? But that shouldn't be possible. I've never had any sort of psionic abilities in my life!"

The entity's irritation faded, replaced with confusion, "You've never...? Hmm..."

John looked up at the figure, "What is it?" He felt strange, like the entity staring at him was seeing more than just what was on the surface.

The entity finally spoke, "You're experiencing psychic drift."

He cocked an eyebrow, "What's that?"

"It's when someone without psychic abilities begins to manifest very weak powers of their own as a result of mental exposure to a powerful psychic's mind over a prolonged period of time." She was intrigued, "You really did find me by accident."

John decided that maybe this couldn't be too bad, but figured he might as well try and learn what he could, "I guess we got off on the wrong foot. Lemme introduce myself, I'm-"

"John Vordenburg. You're 26 years old, living with two roommates under the care of a rich hotel owner in Cornelius City while you try and get your life in order."

John was surprised and a little unnerved, "...Are you...?"

The entity pulled down her hood, revealing a cerulean vixen with azure eyes, and instantly, he knew who, or at least what, he was speaking to, "I'm a Cerinian, yes." He half-expected her to introduce herself, but the hard, cold stare she was giving him seemed to suggest otherwise, "Your mind is very well guarded. I'm surprised you can even Astral Project at all. However, for as protected as your mind is, I can sense that there are cracks there. The information I just got from you? That's what I got from glimpsing inside those weaknesses."

He looked around, expecting some kind of mind attack that would render him a vegetable, but the vixen only gave him a half-smirk, "I'm not going to destroy your mind... I'm just surprised to have a visitor."

John decided to ask a question before the vixen could answer it for him, "So, who are you?"

The vixen was guarded with her answer and he could sense it, "...A drifter... who's gone too long without another being to speak to."

John was confused, "...What happened to Cerinia? Isn't it still around?"

Instantly, he was taken out of the void and dropped into a memory. He was standing in an ivory tower decorated with golden structures and cyan gemstones that he recognized as the palace, from the images Sondra had shown him. There were Cerinians just going about their day, when the scene seemed to change suddenly. Suddenly, there was mass panic as the palace seemed to crumble around them, the falling debris crushing some who just weren't fast enough to make it. He looked out the window and saw fire erupting from the ground, like a volcanic eruption of some sort. With it, he saw shadowy figures swarming the streets and the forests, tearing apart anyone in their path.

Suddenly, the scene changed again, and he found himself inside a shuttle, looking out the canopy as Cerinia seemed to vanish in an explosion of fire. He looked around the shuttle and saw the vixen, garbed in white-gold armor, screaming in tears as her world died. He looked around the shuttle and saw very little, save for what she had time to grab, including a crest that he recognized. A shield with the engraving of a hawk in flight, a staff in its talons, the sigil depicting Cerise, the Cerinian creator-goddess, and the symbol used by the royal family.

The memory ended and the vixen seemed saddened, "Cerinia is no more. My people are dead." She looked up at him, "Stranger, how do you know of my home-world? Only a select few nowadays are even aware that it existed, and only because I spoke to them."

John decided there was no reason to hide it, since there was a chance she could probably find out anyway, "Because my people used to work with your people." He decided to let his mental guard down, and let her see his memories.

The scene changed to one that he recognized. It was his old apartment, and there he was, watching the windows as the first Cerinian ships he had ever seen flew overhead to land in the newly constructed space-port. He explained what had happened, "When we touched the stars for the first time, I mean truly touched the stars, we expected to find nothing but barren, dead worlds that never supported life. Instead, we found your kind, a front against more hostile species that sought to conquer and destroy. We were an old species by our standards, but compared to the rest of the universe, we were barely learning how to walk."

The scene changed to a public setting, a park, where he first met Sondra, sitting alone at a bench, "We came together, bringing a golden age for my people. And then we lost all of it."

The scene changed again, this time, it was dawning on a burning city wrought in anarchy as people, John's kind, were being slaughtered by mutilated, transformed half-corpses, only for their victims to get back up, sprouting visceral new appendages formed from mechanical implements they previously never had. A light shimmered in the distance of the city, the Quarantine Field, as it engulfed the planet, its exotic energy tainting the light of Sol, causing the illusion of a permanent eclipse. The scene changed once more, to show him as the lid to his stasis pod was closed. He closed his eyes as the Cryonic Freeze activated and the LOTUS entered his mind, placing him in a dreamworld so he wouldn't be isolated.

John's memory ended and he turned to the Cerinian, "My kind died out, and we told your kind to retreat, so you wouldn't suffer the same fate. Those of us who stayed either died or went into an artificial hibernation. I don't know if anyone else survived, I don't know if my world is even around anymore."

The vixen was perplexed, "You're one of the Star Children?"

John returned the confusion, "What's that?"

The vixen explained it, "When I was a young child, my mother used to tell me stories of a time when we weren't alone in the universe, of a species much like ours, who's first steps into the skies brought them to us. They were brave, young, idealistic, but they were naïve, unaware of the dangers of a universe that would kill them without thinking about it, or regretting it. We called them the Star Children, as their mind-forms were almost always that of a creature of light, a shining star that contrasted their mental strongholds. The stories say that one Star Child even lived among us, and fought along side us as if he were Cerinian. But in the end, the Star Children vanished, consumed by an evil rotting within them that they never knew about."

John stared at the ground, then raised his arms to look at them again. Sure enough, they were shimmering as though they were made of light. He shook his head, not sure he wanted to believe what he was hearing. The vixen commented, "I guess we both have something in common."

He looked up at her, "What's that?"

"...We've lost everything. You're the last of your kind, so am I."

He was tempted to agree, until he remembered something, "Wait, no you're not. My roommates, they're Cerinians who stayed behind! They went into hibernation with the rest of the survivors!"

That seemed to catch the vixen by surprise. Her eyes went wide, "There are others out there?" The vixen seemed to show desperation for a moment, before she regained herself, "If there are... We should meet some time... I'm sure you three would enjoy some company that you are familiar with."

John felt like he was fading and realized he was being pulled out of this mind-realm, "Wait, I didn't catch your name!"

The vixen smirked, "Next time, Star Child."

* * *

John jerked awake when he heard the door open. Serrin slid into the back seat and adjusted herself in her seat, before looking up and giving John a small grin, "We're done in the store." She took note of John's condition, "You have a nice nap?"

John pressed his lips in thought, debating on whether he should share what he saw. Considering that they'd likely never heard of psychic drift -this was the first time he'd ever heard of such a thing himself-, they'd probably think he was making it up. "I'm alright. Just a bit tired."

Serrin grinned, "Well, we're going to head back home now. Mr. de Pon says we'll take the scenic route on the way home."

* * *

"Mistress, are you alright? I lost you for a second." The A.I.'s holographic avatar hovered by the vixen's face as she shook her head, bringing herself back to reality.

"I'm fine. But I have some good news." That piqued the A.I.'s curiosity, so she continued, "I might have just made a new contact on Corneria. And he's part of the same species that created your father A.I."

The A.I. was shocked, "You mean... there's still a human alive?"

"There's more. Apparently he's got two roommates, and they're both Cerinians. That explains how he developed psychic drift."

The A.I. seemed suspicious, "Humanity died a long time ago. I thought there were no survivors. Don't you think it's a little suspicious?"

"The story he told me matches the one you told me. He's old, from an era that the stories of the Star Children originated from, and I can finally get some answers about my world, maybe."

The A.I. immediately disagreed, "It could just be a trap, a lure to try and get you to fall for it."

The vixen snarled at the A.I., "This is the first psychic contact I've had since my world perished, MIRA. Could you forgive me if I'm happy to have someone I can speak to with my mind that isn't a robot or someone I hate?"

The A.I. remained quiet, prompting the vixen to speak, "He recognized the crest on my ship. I think that makes him real enough. I'm taking the shuttle and I'm going to Corneria. It's not like I won't be heading there anyways. I'm going to find the target and ask him a couple questions, then I'm going to see about meeting this 'John Vordenburg.' And I'll be damned if you're gonna stop me."

* * *

A/N

→ Original Content (Named Vehicles) used with permission. Credit goes to Tobias Umbra.

→ Psychic drift is a mental condition that began appearing some time during the Golden Age of Space Travel for humanity, a couple months prior to the Outbreak. Psychic drift develops in individuals depending on their mindset as well as their exposure to individuals with genuine psychic abilities such as the Cerinians. Scientists studying it had determined that the condition itself is not dangerous, but it can lead to isolated cases of contagious mental illness caused by the individual experiencing psychic drift near anyone who already suffers from a mental illness such as clinical depression, leading to the drifter 'catching' it much like how one catches a disease. Beyond that, little was understood about the condition, especially since only a couple months later, the Outbreak happened and wiped out humanity.


	8. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Star Fox © Nintendo. Original Content © Me (See A/N)

* * *

 **Chapter 7** : Night Terrors

* * *

It was mid-day when Fay and Miyu finally left the park. One of a few forests grown within the city mostly for the sake of tourism, essentially a nature park, that Fay decided to take Miyu to for some quiet sight-seeing. All in all, things went fairly well, and Fay was ready to discuss where they'd go next when she felt a raindrop hit her nose. Blinking, she looked up at the sky to see dark clouds above the city. She glanced at Miyu, "You still want to try and go to the fairgrounds?"

Miyu shook her head, "I guess it wouldn't hurt to just head back to the apartment, though I'm feeling a little peckish. Mind if we pick up something sweet and unhealthy?"

Fay smirked, "Of course not, Miyu."

Before either of them could really say or do anything else, someone stumbled out of an alley and limped toward them, very clearly in distress. The snow leopard looked like she had just gotten in a fight, with a torn jacket and a scrape visible on her cheek, "Please! Help me!"

Miyu stepped in, grabbing the snow leopard by her shoulders, "Calm down, what happened?"

The snow leopard pointed toward the alley, "There... in there..."

Miyu glanced at Fay, who shrugged, before the duo pulled out their pistols (the snow leopard seemed surprised when she saw the weapons) and headed toward the alley. The alley had nothing notable about it, save for the large bloodstain and a small trail on one end, leading deeper into the alley. Sidearms readied, Miyu led the duo deeper into the alley in the hopes of finding out what was going on. They reached a small back area and immediately, Miyu realized something wasn't right. There was a corpse sitting in a puddle of blood, and from the way it was sitting against the wall, it had been dragged there if the bloody drag marks were any indication. The corpse also looked relatively old, flies buzzing around it. Miyu glanced up at Fay, who looked behind them to see the snow leopard, a sadistic sneer on her face.

Before either of them had the chance to ask questions, the snow leopard seemed to explode into a mass of winged critters that swarmed around Fay, lifting her off the ground and carrying her away. Miyu felt powerless to stop her, she couldn't raise her weapon, she feared that she'd hit Fay if she tried to shoot them. She could only scream as Fay was carried off. There was a sudden feeling of numbness in her legs and she fell to her knees, eyes wide open and staring blankly at the ground. She couldn't think straight, her mind was running wild with uncontrolled fear.

She heard the voice of that snow leopard, speaking to her, "If you want your lover back, come to the ruins of Old Cornelius City by nightfall. I'd like to have a little chat with you." She looked up and saw one of those creatures, perched on top of a lamp-post. Seeing it look down on her caused her to snap. With a furious cry, she trained her pistol on the creature and pulled the trigger. The creature fell, it's head now just a bloody stump. She took a moment to settle down a bit, then got a good look at the creature she just killed. It almost looked like one of those wild bats she'd seen once, and not like the Lylatian kind. This one had black fur with a sleekness and sheen that seemed unnatural. If it's head was still intact, she probably would've gotten a good look at it's face. Instead, she saw strange black swirls slithering through the spilled blood. She didn't want to risk touching it, so she backed away from it. Miyu realized that she couldn't go there alone, especially since the being hadn't specified it, so she contacted the _Livid Vixen_.

* * *

"...All this time... He's been conducting an investigation into all of this? Behind our backs?" Fara was awestruck when she saw the massive board filled with various drawings, newspaper scraps and pieces of a map. She'd known Saru was secretive, but she didn't think this was why.

SADIE spoke up, "He asked me to remain silent about it, he feared that it would place you three in danger if he brought you into this."

Fara clenched her fist, "He's not supposed to make those decisions... And it doesn't matter, because we're in danger anyway if he's right about all this."

"Incoming call from Miyu," SADIE announced, before a holo-screen appeared before Fara, showing Miyu in a back alley.

Miyu seemed vicious, "Fay's been kidnapped. I need you and Saru down here now."

Fara shook her head, "Remember that vixen that Saru was talking about? She got on board the ship somehow. Saru's gone and she's still looking for him. Miyu... He was investigating the murders. They're part of something much bigger. Something that he felt was dangerous enough to keep secret from us."

Miyu snapped, "I don't care, get your ass down here! I'm not going to leave Fay in the hands of that shapeshifting freak-of-nature when it could be doing Lyla-knows-what to her!"

Fara growled, before muttering, "Fine. I'll be down as soon as possible." She closed the call and addressed SADIE, "I have to go. Take care of the place while I'm gone, alright?"

SADIE understood, "I will forward you Saru's notes on this investigation. If Fay has been kidnapped by whom Miyu described, it may help ensure her safety."

* * *

Serrin couldn't shake the odd feeling that something bad was happening. For a moment, she could've sworn she'd sensed some kind of panic. She was never really good at emotions. Knowing where everyone was was more her specialty. She soon overheard Yaru speaking on the phone and decided to listen in, "...that's terrible! What can I do about it? ...Are you sure? It's my understanding you didn't part with them on the best of terms... I'll see who else I can send and if nothing else, I'll send for them."

He hung up the phone and noticed Serrin standing there as she asked, "What's going on?"

Yaru shook his head, "Nothing you need to worry about."

Serrin wasn't having any of it, "What's **really** going on, Mr. de Pon?"

Yaru sighed, "It's Fay. She's been kidnapped. They're holding her for ransom. She told me that it's in Old Cornelius City."

Serrin raised an eyebrow, "Old Cornelius City?"

The old raccoon nodded, "It's the ruins of Cornelius from the Lylat Wars. It's basically abandoned save for the occasional squatter. There's not much left after the meteor struck it, the city crashed down about 30 miles outside of new Cornelius City."

Serrin nodded, "No problem. I can get there quickly." With that, she strode off and with a single glance toward Sabre, they got up and left before Yaru could ask any questions. John watched them leave, before asking Yaru where they were heading.

Yaru shook his head, "Nowhere good." He looked at John and asked him, "You ever used a gun before?" John nodded, unsure of what the question meant. Yaru walked into the kitchen and tapped a tile on the wall. The hidden button slid in and immediately, the wall next to it slid open to reveal a small cache of weapons.

John was hesitant to take any of the weapons, seeing as his experience with them was limited mostly to firing them at monsters that used to be human. Yaru took note of his hesitation, "Not comfortable with them, are ya? That's alright. Some people just never get used to them. But, I'd advise you take one with you anyway." John stared at the various rifles, shotguns, and pistols, a bit surprised that a nice old raccoon like Yaru had an arsenal like that hidden away. He could only wonder about it as Yaru finally gave up and pushed a pistol into his hands. John stared at the pistol in his hand, unsure if he was really ready to use a firearm again. Nevertheless, he accepted it and the holster that was offered, strapping the holster to his belt and holstering his pistol. Yaru seemed a bit impressed, "You handle it like you're a natural, kid. What kind of careers did you work before you ended up here?"

John paused, unsure of how to answer that. After a moment, he settled for simply saying, "I'll tell you later."

He inquired about their destination and Yaru replied that they were going to meet an acquaintance, someone who owed him a favor and he was going to call it in for back-up, seeing as Miyu was going to need it. John asked why they would need it if they were going to the ruins of an old city. "Because, what your friends wouldn't let me say before they went off is that the Ruins also serve as a good place to hide if you're not on good terms with the law. I'm worried about all of them getting in over their heads if they go alone."

* * *

It was dark when her cell-phone rang. Grumbling, the lupine reluctantly lifted a hand out from under the covers and answered, "It's 10 at night, what do you want?" She clumsily lifted herself upright when she realized who it was, "Mr. de Pon, what a surprise. Is there a reason you called so late?" She listened to the old raccoon for a minute, before pinching the bridge of her muzzle, "...I was kinda hoping you were joking about that favor. Alright, I'll be right over. ...No, he's not coming with me. No reason to get the wonder boy involved in something serious." She paused as she threw aside the covers and got out of her bed, walking over to the apartment window and pushing aside the curtains to stare out into the Cornerian night, "Speaking of which, what exactly am I needed for? ...Hostage situation? Involving two of your other former students? Alright, I'll be right over. ...You're picking me up? If you say so." She closed the curtains, "I'll be waiting, don't take too long."

As soon as she hung up, she headed over to her dresser and began digging through her clothes for something to slip on quickly. She had just finished putting on a t-shirt when a male voice asked, "Miranda, what's going on?"

Normally, she was very patient, but considering the time, she wasn't really feeling it as she sighed aloud, then replied, "Go back to sleep, Justin."

"And how do I do that while you go do something late in the night that could be exciting for our viewers?" There was a flirty note in his tone that made her feel a bit agitated.

"You have an interview in the morning, now go back to sleep before I bruise more than just your ego."

The vulpine shrugged, "Whatever you say, boss… Try not to show up wasted, tomorrow."

She finished buckling up her pants and flipped him off as he left.

* * *

She recognized Yaru's skycar the instant she saw it out in front of the apartment. As she walked up to it, Yaru opened the passenger-side door and beckoned her in. Miranda, upon pulling the door shut and buckling herself in, went straight to the point, "Alright, so, where is this hostage being held and are we gonna need to make a pit-stop for any sort of special firepower?"

Yaru pulled the skycar out onto the highway, "The ruins. No idea where in the ruins, though. We're not entirely sure about the captor, only that they possibly have some sort of access to advanced holographic tech and some kind of flash-stepping device, seeing as they were able to literally kidnap Fay in broad daylight."

A ring from the back seat made Miranda nearly jump out of her seat as someone held an archaic-looking cell-phone up to Yaru, "It's for you, Yaru." Miranda glanced into the back seat to see what looked almost like an ape Cornerian. She turned to Yaru as he simply returned the stare, wordlessly implying that he'll explain later.

He leaned into the cell-phone as the alien held it up to his ear, "Yes?" The caller relayed some information to him, to which he only nodded and gave a quick, "Mm-hmm. We'll be there as soon as we can." With that, the alien removed the cell-phone from Yaru's ear and leaned back. Yaru glanced at the two of them and relayed what he'd been told, "Miyu just got a meet-up location from the kidnapper. She wants to meet in the old Church of Lylat."

The alien decided to ask, "Church of Lylat? But, isn't Lylat the name of this star system?"

Miranda beat Yaru to the punch, "The Lylat system is named for the star, Lylat, but it's also named after Lyla, the Goddess of creation and founder of Lylatianism."

"Oh…" The alien acknowledged with a tone of voice that suggested that he still didn't understand.

Miranda decided to change the subject, "Well, how about you? You're not from around here, so what are you, who are you, and how are you speaking Lylatian?"

The alien leaned back, eyes wide, "My people called the language English."

Yaru took a moment to comment, "You should see him try and use a computer, though."

"Bite me. Fonts aren't easy."

Miranda gave a half-smile before holding out her hand, "I think you and I will get along famously. I'm Miranda Swift, leader of QuestForce, former understudy to Mr. de Pon."

The alien shook her hand, "Uh… John. John Vordenburg. Um… I'm a human… and that's really the only outstanding thing about me right now..."

Miranda looked confused, "How is simply being another species the only thing worth being proud of?"

"Miranda? Is there a chance we can talk about that later?" Yaru interrupted their conversation as the scenery changed suddenly as they diverged from the sky-lanes and headed towards the forests below the hovering city. John leaned forward as Miranda turned around as they could see, off in the distance, the ruins of Old Cornelius City.

* * *

A/N

→ Original Content (QuestForce & associated characters) used with permission. Credit goes to Tobias Umbra.

→ I have returned from my hiatus, and I come bearing gifts. Or rather, a new chapter. I always thought the idea of "celebrities behind the camera" was interesting, and QuestForce, even though it's something of a derisive joke among other mercenary teams within their home continuity, seemed like something worth writing about.


	9. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Star Fox © Nintendo. Original Content © Me (See A/N)

* * *

 **Chapter 8** : Nyctophilia

* * *

The skycar pulled to a stop in the small clearing that at some point might have been a public park, but now was an overgrown, worn down concrete ghost of a location. John didn't like it. It reminded him way too much of back home, and not in a good way. As he, Miranda, and Yaru finally got out of the skycar, Yaru looked around, "I remember this place… This used to be Castle Park."

John rubbed his arm unconsciously, before deciding to unholster his sidearm, a 23-E pistol. It reminded him a lot of an older pistol he once saw in a museum. "Castle Park? Why that name, if I might ask?"

Yaru shrugged, "I never really understood that part. But, it means I have an idea of where we are and where we need to be, roughly. If I remember correctly, the Church is about 3 blocks away, that way." He pointed across the ruined park, "We'd be better off traveling on foot if we want to be stealthy about this."

"A bit late for that." The new voice startled all three of them as a figure garbed in a black pilot suit with a faded tan cloak walked around the corner.

She had her hood pulled over her face, but John immediately remembered, "Wait… It's you! I recognize your voice!"

The figure pulled down her hood, revealing the vixen in question. She gave a warm grin to John, a stark contrast to the cold, calculating, faraway look hidden deep in her eyes, "It's nice to finally meet you, drifter."

Yaru was the second to recognize the vixen, "Krystal?"

John didn't miss the way that name incited a very subtle flinch when she heard it, the ghost of a frown that crossed her face. But, she continued on as if it hadn't happened, "Hello, old friend."

Miranda lowered her pistol and asked, "You three know each other?"

Yaru glanced at John, who shrugged, then replied, "Some time after I'd retired from teaching at the Academy, Star Fox hired me as a personal tutor for Miss Krystal here. Although, I'd heard you left the team at some point. Everything going alright?"

Krystal hesitated very briefly, then nodded, "I apologize for not contacting you sooner. I wound up tied up in some business that I needed to take care of."

Yaru nodded, understanding somewhat, "Well, it's great to see you again. Now, I must ask, how do you and John know each other?"

John was about to interject that he didn't actually know her when she spoke first, "Long story. Now, I've heard you're here to help diffuse a hostage situation. Well, as it so happens, I have reason to suspect that your kidnapper may be important to someone I'm currently investigating, possibly employed by them. Getting to the kidnapper may give me a lead to this person."

Yaru seemed surprised, "You're a private eye now?"

Krystal bit her tongue, "Something like that..." She shook her head, "Anyways, seeing as we share something of a common goal, I was hoping that perhaps we might consider working together to see this through?"

Yaru immediately accepted, with Miranda following close. John hesitated for a moment, before throwing in his acceptance as well.

* * *

"So… How did you know we'd be here?" John finally decided to ask as they made their way through the ghost city.

Krystal's eyes remained forward, "Luck of the draw. As it so happened, my target is in this area. However, if I want to talk to him, I'll need to take care of this problem first."

"'This problem?'" John inquired.

"The kidnapper. I do think that she might have some ties to the person I'm trying to find, but I think I might find a better lead among someone who was able to evade me for so long." She seemed a bit sparse on the details, but John wasn't sure he should leave it at that.

He looked around the city again before asking, "So, what do you know about the kidnapper besides the potential ties to your suspect?"

Krystal looked up at the sudden roll of thunder, "Only as much as you do. She's strong, fast, and supposedly able to vanish into thin air."

"So, what can you tell me about the person you're actually here for?" John had a feeling that this was a pointed question to ask, but decided that he was better off asking anyway in case they ran into the person during this.

Krystal remained silent about it, so he decided to try something. He focused his mind to the best of his ability and tried to reach out. He could feel something familiar for a brief moment, before he was quickly and forcefully knocked back into his own head, with a fierce glare from Krystal, who hadn't even broken stride despite stopping him in his tracks. She continued onward, muttering, "You couldn't get in even if your telepathy was genuine."

At that point, John figured that it might be better for his mental health to not press the question any further. He simply glanced back at Yaru and Miranda, who were giving him looks as they continued on, walking past him and continuing toward the abandoned church.

As they neared the church, John caught sight of Miyu, sitting on the steps toward the entrance, Serrin and Sabre were nowhere to be seen. She looked up to see the group and initially grinned when John and Yaru waved at her, but her grin turned into an immediate scowl upon seeing another familiar face. She got up from the steps and stalked toward the group. Once she was within a range she was certain she wouldn't need to shout, she asked, "What are you doing coming here with _her_?"

Yaru was surprised, but before he could say anything, Krystal spoke over her, "Settle down, Stripes. I'm only here to ask Saru a few questions."

Miyu whirled around, hands balled up into fists, "Right, like what you did to Fara, right? Why should I believe you when all you've tried to do is kill us up until now?"

Yaru was appalled, but tried to deny it, "No, now wait a second, Krystal's just an investigator, she wouldn't try to kill you." He turned to face the vixen, a concerned look in his eyes, "You wouldn't… would you?"

Krystal only looked at the ground, ears folding back. Miyu, inversely, was livid, "Krystal? As in, Krystal from _Star Fox_ Krystal?" She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to keep herself from screaming every obscenity she could think of at her and blowing their cover. She finally opened her eyes and glared at her, "Wasn't enough that you join Lylat's Superstar mercenary team and get into the poster-boy's pants, now you come after my team because it's where the money is, huh? You're just a bounty hunter, ready to kill for anyone just because it gets you a paycheck."

Yaru was struck with disbelief, "Krystal? You're not… You weren't… Are you?"

Krystal met his distressed gaze, "My priorities have changed. My former employer has kept secrets that are worth dying for, and I'm going to find them out, one way or another. But..." She broke off her gaze, "Yes, I am a bounty hunter now."

She fully expected the punch that followed, but she admittedly wasn't expecting it to be from Miyu. She had expected the lynx to claw at her instead, but the punch to the face corrected that assumption. Miyu pulled her pistol, fully ready to kill her when someone stood in between them, "Wait a sec, please!"

"John, get out of my way." Miyu's tone was threatening, but the human clearly wasn't having any of it. "What do you care about what happens to her anyways?"

"She's a Cerinian. A member of the Royal Family. She deserves to know what happened to Cerinia's old friend." John knew he was walking a thin line, "And she told me everything about what happened to her people."

Miyu hesitated, but finally lowered her pistol, deciding that she had more important tasks at hand. As she walked past Krystal, she paused and growled, "Don't think that this changes anything… If you touch Fay, or anyone on my team, I will not hesitate to put a bolt right in-between your eyes."

Krystal only replied, "I'm counting on it."

* * *

They continued into the cathedral. John would've remarked that he felt rather uncomfortable being in a place of faith so soon after having felt that his own gods had abandoned his people. However, Miyu's sudden cry of "Fay!" distracted his anxiety. He looked to see Miyu rush toward an unconscious form resting near the altar. She got down onto her knees and lifted the figure up, checking her pulse. She smiled, before turning to the others, "She's okay!"

Fay mumbled and opened her eyes, turning to meet Miyu's face, "...Miyu?"

The familiar sound of G-controllers echoing into the cathedral attracted their attention to the entrance, where two Starwing Armorsuits, one carrying a third figure, flew into the church and landed, releasing their passenger once they landed. John recognized them the instant he saw them, "A little late to the party, don't you think?"

The helmet on one of them opened up and retracted to reveal Serrin's unamused face, "We got turned around. Didn't help we had to pick up him along the way."

Before anyone could say anything else, there was a sudden unusually loud gust of wind, followed by the large, cathedral door, having been left open for years, suddenly slamming shut. The group remained silent, before John, Serrin, and Sabre immediately moved to place themselves around Miyu and Fay, their backs to the duo. Without wasting a second, Serrin addressed her companions, "Nothing gets past us. If you see movement that's not any of us, shoot it."

There was a brief period of silence that felt like forever, before a sound echoed through the cathedral that was entirely too familiar to John. He looked around to find the source of the click, looking upward to see a silhouette on the balcony of the second floor, and a silver glint that he recognized. He froze when he saw it. All it took was a split second when the figure fired the pistol in it's hands. The bullet was aimed for Saru, and it felt like an eternity as he wanted to warn him. The bullet struck, right in the midriff of Yaru de Pon, who had likewise noticed and put himself in the line of fire within a second of seeing it.

* * *

John, Serrin, and Sabre immediately drew their weapons and fired at the figure, who retreated behind a wall. Serrin called for Sabre to follow her as she levitated up to the balcony to give chase. John chose to holster his pistol and rushed to Yaru's side. Saru was holding him and doing his best to set the old raccoon down carefully, already pulling out a med-pack from his bag. Krystal was by his side as well, "Saru and I will get him to a hospital." She looked up at John, "You and Miranda get those two out of here. Make sure they're safe."

A shadow erupted from the darkest corners of the grand hall, washing over John and knocking him down. As it retreated into the shadows once again, a voice spoke to all of them, "You'll never be safe. I'm not finished yet. You will all suffer greatly before the end."

He got back on his feet and looked around, expecting the shadow to jump back out at him. When nothing happened, he joined Miranda in helping Miyu to get Fay, who was slowly regaining feeling in her body, to get out of the place. He reached the door before the other two did and helped to shove it open. As Miyu, Fay, and Miranda got out, he paused to wait for Krystal and Saru, carrying the bandaged raccoon out. Serrin and Sabre soon followed, both looking frustrated. John asked, "What happened, did you get her?"

Sabre shook his head, "She's not here. She's not anywhere near here. It's as if she just vanished."

* * *

Krystal and Saru had taken Yaru's skycar to go to the hospital, while Serrin and Sabre had left to return to the apartment. So, the quartet decided to pile into Miyu's rental. On their way out of the ruins, John decided to ask, "If Yaru's injured, we can't be sure that his apartment will be safe. Serrin and Sabre said that they were going to go clear it out real quick."

Miyu looked at him, "And you being here… Does that mean you don't think you'll be safe at his apartment?"

He shook his head, "I'm not sure. But I don't have anywhere else to go..."

Miranda piped up, "He can stay with me until Yaru gets better. Yaru's been shot, so someone's gonna start asking questions. That means police at his apartment, asking questions. I know John didn't commit the crime, but I'm sure he'd rather not deal with questions he doesn't want to answer right now."

Miyu glanced at Fay, who was sleeping peacefully in the passenger seat and sighed, "Alright. If John's okay with that."

John nodded after a moment's hesitation, "She makes a good point."

Miranda pulled out her cell-phone, "I need to make a quick call before we do." The other three remained silent as she called, "It's me. Get up. I need the apartment to myself for the next week. ...Look, you can go stay with your girlfriend for a that time, but this is serious. ...Ex-girlfriend? What a shocker. Look, I don't give two shits about your interview at this point, just fucking make sure that you're packed for a week. ...Fine, you can go settle with Zee for that time. It's just one week, it's not like it's your Powerthirst sponsor on the line. However, this is a serious, personal issue that I can't have you barging in on. And there better not be a filming crew when I get there!" She hung up and turned to John, "You can hang out at my place for the rest of the week. I'll see you back to your apartment personally once we know Yaru's out of the hospital and we don't have to worry about someone nosing around."

* * *

Miyu had dropped Miranda and John off at his apartment, then left them. John immediately put his hood up and Miranda led the way. They checked in at the front desk, then went on up to her suite. At the door, Miranda stopped him, "I'll go first, make sure that everything's ready."

She opened the door and walked into their apartment. John had a feeling that this was a bit ridiculous to expect an attack here, then he remembered what she had said about a filming crew. He hadn't really gotten around to watching any actual holo-vision here, and for a minute, wondered how a former student had managed to become a celebrity before hearing her say, "Everything checks out. You're clear to come on inside."

Miranda's suite was marginally more simplistic compared to Yaru's. In fact, if it wasn't for a couple details that stuck out every now and again, he would've considered this nothing more than just a regular apartment. He saw Miranda pull off her t-shirt and immediately blushed when she tossed it aside. She turned and saw him staring, before asking, "Mind shutting the door _before_ you stare?" He turned around and shut the apartment door, apologizing before noticing her mischievous grin, "Relax, I'm just messing with ya. Honestly, I would've been more curious if you weren't staring."

This piqued his attention, "Curious?"

"About your sexuality. But, I'm actually more curious about humans. You said that being human was somehow the only thing that made you stand out. Mind if I ask about that?" John had a feeling that he'd be asked to explain the history of humanity a lot for the next few months and mentally resigned to his fate as a broken record. He found a place to sit down and began recounting details about his life and what he had learned of human history, explaining details such as the Great Wars, World Peace Day, Humanity's first encounter with extraterrestrial life and eventual partnership with Cerinia, and then the final days of humanity, the Nanovirus outbreak and the birth of the Aparoid monster.

She sat across from him, leaning forward, taking in everything he said, clearly interested in hearing what he had to say. She was particularly interested when he began describing his relationship with one Cerinian, "So, you actually took one of them as your mate?"

John pursed his lips for a moment. It still hurt to think about, that he'd never see Sondra again, or hear her soothing voice during the long sleepless nights after the plague first came to light, but he knew that at some point, he'd have to move on, "We dated. We had a pretty strong relationship going on, having been together for three years. We were planning to get married at some point, but I guess that's just an old dream of mine now."

Miranda decided to ask, "You said Cerinians had mental powers of a sort. So… what was it like to fuck one?"

John couldn't have blushed harder, "I'm sorry? We never actually had sex. I mean, sure, legal perspective, it was perfectly fine seeing as Cerinians were intelligent beings capable of giving consent and denying propositions, but it was still a bit of a social taboo in several places for a human to even have a relationship with a Cerinian. I'm sure we'd both thought about it at some point, but that's just not something that we ever really did."

After that, he resumed explaining everything that he knew about humanity, or rather, as much as he could. And once that was done, Miranda stood up, walked over to him, and pulled him into a hug, "I understand now… I can't begin to imagine the burden you feel you must carry." She let go of him and pulled her chair closer, sitting down and resting a hand on his shoulder, "I can't say that I can relate to the feeling of losing one's entire race, but I can offer this. You don't have to face that alone. You've got your friends, Serrin and Sabre, and from what you've told me of Cerinian familial customs, they're basically your siblings. Plus, Yaru seemed to like you, so you've got him looking out for ya." She gave him a warm grin, "And, for what it's worth, I'd like to throw in my support as well. I'll watch your back from here on out, but don't go looking for trouble, I can only do so much when you get caught up with Substance D dealers and other underground characters."

John averted his gaze, choosing to stare at the ground, "Yaru got shot. He's in the hospital. Because of me."

Miranda gave him a firm look, "Don't start with that. You didn't shoot him, neither of you were even the target. Besides, Yaru's a strong old man, it'd take a lot more than that to actually kill him. Besides, it was that sadistic bitch that actually pulled the trigger."

John shook his head, "I recognize the flintlock she was using. It belonged to my great grandmother. I don't know how someone like that got a hold of it, but it may as well have been me since I was legally it's last owner."

* * *

Saru was sitting in the waiting room when Krystal walked out of the doctor's office. She walked up to him and relayed the news, "They're saying that the bullet didn't hit anything vital, so they should be able to get it out and stitch him back up without a problem."

Saru scooted over, gesturing for her to sit down next to him on the bench. As she sat down, he spoke to her, "I appreciate you helping me get him here on such short notice… But you weren't just here to be a Good Samaritan, were you?"

Krystal pulled out a file from under her cloak, "You were right about my employer. He's not who he claims. This contains everything I've actually found about him. All the fake names, dummy accounts, and everything he's set up. But, despite all that, there is nothing about who he _is_." Saru opened up the folder and read through it, going over the various leads, impressed that she was able to dig up so much on such short notice. Sure enough, a lot of what she had in the folder correlated with what he already knew, although there was a fair amount she had found that was new to him. He'd have to see how this fit in with the rest of his information. As he went through, Krystal continued, "I do feel that I must apologize. Normally, I don't see a reason to do a background check on my employers. They pay me to do a job and I do it. Of course, he felt that me asking about what you had spoken to me about was enough to terminate my contract. So, I'd like to apologize for nearly killing you, Miyu, and Fay."

Saru glanced at her from the file as she added, "If you don't think I can be forgiven, I won't try to change your mind about that." Seeing her looking down at the floor, ears flat against her head in depression, it reminded him so much of someone else he once knew.

Against his better judgement, he gingerly took her hand in his. She looked up at him as he assured her, "I forgive you. The others may take some time to come around, but I forgive you. Now, it's best that we don't dwell on the past. After all, we'll still need to catch our little mystical assassin and her employer." He set the folder down, releasing her hand. "And, I dunno about you, but I'm all for serving him up a bit of revenge." He held up his other hand and struck it with his fist for emphasis, "How about you?"

She gave a soft chuckle, "I suppose… There is something I must take care of before then, though."

* * *

John looked around and realized that he was no longer curled up on Miranda's bed. He was dressed, and currently a passenger in a skytrain, one that was largely empty, save for the driver, whom he couldn't make out the features of. He heard footsteps and looked toward the back of his car to see Krystal walking in, before asking, "May I have this seat?"

He glanced toward the empty seat next to him and nodded. She sat down next to him and asked, "So… Did you really once own the flintlock that shot Yaru?"

John looked around, "This is another mindscape, isn't it?" When she nodded, he returned his gaze to the window, "The flintlock is an archaic design for a pistol, from a time when ships were made of wood and sailed on the water. However, during the Last World War, the flintlock saw something of a revival as a symbol of status among the British armada. That one in particular belonged to my great grandmother, who had joined and made her way through the ranks with ease that she was given her status as general and her own flintlock, a new model known as the Pierre-33, or P-33 for short. Hers was designed with what was probably the first Subspace Aperture ever implemented into a pistol, as it technically held up to seven shots at any given time. When the war ended and we finally reached World Peace, she'd applied for a new license to keep it as a sort of family heirloom, a reminder of everything we lost in exchange for what we gained. When she died, she passed it on to my grandfather, who passed it on to my mother, who gave it to me when I turned 21."

Krystal took note of the details of the pistol in particular, "So, how did it come into the assassin's possession?"

"I don't know. I thought I lost it when the nanovirus outbreak happened. We did kinda flee in a hurry, and I never found it again. Only thing I could think of is that somehow, she was on Earth recently and came across it by coincidence."

They felt the skytrain slow to a stop and Krystal stood up, "This is my stop. Keep safe, John. I'll find that heirloom and return it to you." As she walked toward the door, she paused and turned to glance at John, "And don't worry about Yaru, he's fine." She left the skytrain and the doors shut behind her, the skytrain's route resuming once again. John felt a bit relieved to hear that, and relaxed into his seat as the skytrain faded away and he once again went back to his own little realm of dreams, for once not being plagued by nightmares of the past.

* * *

A/N

→ Original Content (QuestForce & associated characters) used with permission. Credit goes to Tobias Umbra.


	10. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Star Fox © Nintendo. Original Content © Me (See A/N)

* * *

 **Chapter 9** : Daybreak

* * *

When John woke up, he recalled the skytrain conversation clear as day. _I must've been woken up for that somehow_ , he still, to this day, hadn't gotten used to Cerinian telepathy, even if he honestly should've been by now. It took him a good minute to fully wake up. It was still dark outside, but he could see the edges of daylight slowly approaching. He checked the time. 5:30, and he realized he understood the clock perfectly. He sighed, figuring that Krystal must've left some kind of knowledge in his head to let him read Lylat Standard better. He felt oddly cheated, though perhaps it was just because it meant he didn't get to put in the effort toward learning it by himself.

It was then that he became aware of the presence of something strong and warm pressed up against his back. He tried to look behind him and realized that somehow, Miranda had slipped into the bed with him, and her back was now pressed up against his. He was reminded of a time before the Nanovirus outbreak, and the many peaceful nights he used to have, at least, when he was doing better with his anxiety. His breathing hitched for a moment and he felt tears welling up, but he blinked them away, deciding to focus more on the good feeling that this did remind him of. He glanced behind him again, silently remarking that she reminded him a bit of Sondra, at least in how peaceful she looked when she was asleep. He couldn't help the small grin that formed when he thought of how mortified she would've been to hear even half the crude words that Miranda casually used. Figuring it would be best not to disturb her, he rested his head on the pillow and decided to fall back asleep for a little while.

When he woke up again, it was a half-hour later, and he was vividly aware of grey-furred arms wrapped around his midriff and Miranda's muzzle resting on his neck. It was awkward, to put it simply. At this point, he figured it would probably be best if he did get up. Being as careful as he could, he disentangled himself from the bed and figured he may as well look around in the kitchen. He found that a half-filled pot of coffee was waiting for him. He figured it wouldn't hurt to help himself to a cup.

He was about halfway through his second cup when Miranda walked in, having acquired a robe from somewhere, before pouring herself a cup of coffee and taking a seat at the little table, sitting across from him. She grinned at him, "So, how do ya like it here?"

John sipped at his coffee for a moment, then replied, "It's nice." He was half-expecting to hear Serrin comment on how it didn't compare to Cerinian housing, or Sabre agreeing with him for the sake of being polite. He decided to continue, "It's quiet. And it's kinda what I expected an apartment to look like."

Miranda chuckled, "Living in the lap of luxury has a way of overwhelming you, doesn't it?"

John was about to protest when he paused to think about it for a moment, "...Yeah, kinda." He took a minute to ponder some more, "Although, I won't deny that Yaru has been an accommodating host for _three_ complete strangers."

The lupine nodded, "That's kinda what I expected to hear." At his confused look, she clarified, "Yaru's a great person, and an even greater teacher, I couldn't have asked for a better flight instructor when I was still in the academy. But, he's also always seen himself as more of a father to his students rather than just a teacher. He was more prone to downplaying the reality of a situation whether he realizes it or not so that he can be more 'careful' with his lessons."

John had a feeling he knew where this was going, but he figured he might ask, "Is that a bad thing?"

Miranda shook her head, "Not exactly. There used to be a Mrs. de Pon, but she passed away before they could have children. He told me a bit about that when I asked. It's the reason a lot of people who studied under him remember him as a kinder, more gentle teacher than most." She grimaced, "It's just that reality isn't always as nice." She stood up and began undoing her robe, causing John to blush. She opened up her robes, showing her bright red night-garments and began parting a small section of fur on the side of her midriff. John had to squint his eyes to see it, but he could make out a scar, which she explained, "Drug bust gone messy. That was the day I discovered that sometimes, reputation alone isn't enough to scare some people."

John was going to ask where this was going when she beat him to the punch, "I just want to know. He's treating you right, but he's not coddling you, is he?"

John thought for a moment, recalling everything that had happened over the past couple weeks, "No ma'am. Serrin and Sabre rushing ahead was of their own accord, Yaru was going to warn them about the Ruins. When he wanted me to go with him, he gave me a warning and armed me before we got in touch with you."

Miranda seemed content, "Well, I suppose you had an idea of what you could expect, then?"

John gave a slow, hesitant nod, "Somewhat."

Miranda sat back down after redoing her robes and finished her coffee, "Changing the subject, I'm going to go for a small grocery run a little later today. You think you can handle being alone for an hour or two?"

John pondered the idea for a minute, "Would you mind if I went with you? I might know how to handle a gun, but I'm a little rusty with my hand-to-hand combat. Plus, I haven't really gotten to see much of the city beyond a couple streets."

Miranda grinned, "Okay, if you insist. Lemme get into the shower and get dressed and we'll head out."

* * *

"You realize she shot you, right? Why are you so quick to trust her on this?" Miyu did her best to keep her voice down in the hospital lobby as she talked to Saru regarding his vouching for their new ally.

"Look, whether you care or not, she's a valuable resource of information regarding who sent that assassin after you. I trust her."

Miyu huffed, "You've talked to her for less than ten minutes and you want to tell me that you trust her? You do realize who she is, right?" She glared at him, "Are you just that good at reading people?"

"Yes." Saru answered without a second thought, which bugged Miyu, who glanced toward the other side of the lobby, where Krystal sat, clearly hearing them, but trying not to give the impression that she was listening. She turned back to him and was about to ask when he simply replied, "It's complicated. I sincerely don't think you're ready to hear about it."

Miyu gritted her teeth, "This coming from the guy who kept secrets about this investigation from the rest of his team when it's going to put us in danger." Saru raised an eeybrow, to which Miyu continued, "Yeah. Fara told me everything. How come you never told us you had a full-blown investigation going on behind our backs?"

Saru hesitated, "I… didn't want to get you three involved in something so dangerous. What I was looking into was something that had many potential threats, and I thought that by keeping you out of the loop, I could keep you safe if something were to happen to me."

Miyu clenched her first and broke eye-contact with him, "You know all three of us are more than capable of handling ourselves even in the worst situations. But, we still rely on each other for the confidence of knowing that we've got someone watching our backs. Do you not trust us to watch out for you?" She met his eyes once again, "How can we trust you to watch out for us if you keep secrets from your own team?"

Saru sighed, "I… I guess you can't." He looked down at the ground, "For whatever it's worth, I'm sorry. I'll try not to keep anymore secrets if they're dangerous to the team."

Miyu crossed her arms, "Well, how about starting with what really happened in the past that you're so secretive about?"

Saru looked up at her, "You wouldn't believe me-"

"Look, considering everything I've seen by now, I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt." Miyu crossed her arms, giving him the indication that she wasn't just his teammate, she was his commander and that he would tell her.

He sighed, "Alright. Fine. I'll tell you. But, not here. If we are going to talk, it's going to be somewhere more private, and I'd rather say it to the whole team."

Miyu's glare softened a bit, "I guess that's fair." She glanced back at Krystal, "But, what about her? Are you sure she's as trustworthy as you say?"

Saru nodded, "Call it an investigator's intuition."

"I've never heard of that." She leveled a skeptical glare at him, before shaking her head, "Okay. I'll get in touch with Fara and Fay and we'll meet up, and then you _are_ going to tell us everything."

* * *

A/N

→ Original Content (QuestForce & associated characters) used with permission. Credit goes to Tobias Umbra.


	11. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Star Fox © Nintendo. Original Content © Me (See A/N)

* * *

 **Chapter 10** : Heart

* * *

He couldn't say he hadn't been expecting half the stares he was getting, but he wasn't sure if it was that he wasn't Lylatian that was earning him more stares or if it was the hood. _Or_ , he thought glumly, _the HV star who I just happened to end up roommates with for the week_. He looked up at the sky. Lots of people were wearing hoods in anticipation of the impending rainstorm looming overhead. He was starting to have second thoughts about coming along with Miranda to run some errands, but at the same time, part of him really wanted to see the city from a different perspective than the rose-tinted glasses Yaru always seemed to have for him.

John glanced ahead. Miranda wanted to walk, promising that they weren't going to pick up much, just some groceries. He wanted to ask if this had something to do with him staying over, but decided against it. He noticed her glance at him and picked up the pace. He had offered to help carry since he couldn't exactly help with paying for any of it. Not that she seemed to mind, as once they got closer to the store, she leaned closer and said, "If you see something you like, lemme know. Long as it's not too expensive, I'll buy it."

He was a bit awestruck at the offer, "Well… Uh… I..."

She chuckled, "Hey, it's all good. If you don't want anything, I won't make you buy something."

As they went in, she suggested that he stayed by her, just in case. About halfway through their trip through the aisles, they passed by the clothing section, and something caught John's eye. It was a relatively long, dark blue scarf. Miranda quickly noticed that he'd been distracted and followed his gaze to the scarf. She picked it up off the rack and held it up to him. He gingerly took it and she suggested that he try it on.

He stared at it for a good couple seconds before wrapping it loosely around his neck, leaving both arms draped over his chest. Miranda nodded in approval, "It looks good on you."

He felt his eyes watering as he grinned, "Thanks." He took the scarf off and once Miranda had looked away to put the scarf in their cart, he quickly wiped his eyes, figuring there was no sense for him to be seen miserable in public. He recalled a bit about Sondra, and how she had taken a shine to scarves when she first discovered them. She had said that it just felt right to wear one, and the one he had given her was not unlike this one, a long, dark blue scarf with two light blue stripes and one white stripe on either end of the scarf. This one only had one light blue stripe on either end, but he was fine with that.

After they left the store, John went on ahead and put the scarf on, seeing as he did feel a bit cold, and Miranda had said that it was going to be colder later in the week. He had agreed to carry one of the bags of groceries seeing as he couldn't pay for them himself yet, not that they had much to bring home anyways, Miranda had only insisted on getting the essentials for the most part.

As they walked home, he felt a headache coming on all of the sudden and paused, rubbing his head. The second he closed his eyes, however, he saw something strange. He wasn't himself. He was someone else, staring out of the alleyway, feeling nothing but anger. Towards everyone, for oppressing his people. He could see standing at the end of the alleyway was Miranda, and felt a particular vitriol toward her as she turned to look behind her. He knew what he must do, and this was going to be the moment that they finally understood that he wouldn't allow his people to be silenced anymore-

John opened his eyes when he felt Miranda's hands on his shoulders, "Hey, Corneria to John, you still with us?"

John nodded, "Just a bit of a headache. I think the sudden change in weather might be behind it."

Miranda nodded, giving him a look that clearly said, _Sure it is_. "Well, let's head on back to the apartment and we'll get you some herbal tea."

As she turned to walk away, John spoke up, "Hey, uh… Do you mind if… maybe..." She turned around to look at him, expectant. "You suppose we might cross the street and walk on the other side for a bit? I'm not a big fan of crowds."

Miranda sighed, "We're not going to be out very long. Besides, it's just as crowded on the other sidewalk." She gently punched him in the shoulder, giving him a small grin, "Man up a little." She turned and continued walking.

John wasn't sure what he had just seen, but he was hopeful that whatever it was wouldn't happen. He didn't quite feel safe yet, but he wasn't sure if this was actually any sort of projection or not.

He suddenly felt a large hand wrap around his upper arm and yank him into an alleyway, where he came face-to-face with a large, burly, and angry ape Cornerian. He shoved John up against the wall and pulled out a dagger, "We will rise above our limits, and when we do, you're either with us or against us. So tell me, baldie, who's side are you on?"

John was terrified. He recognized who this person was, at least somewhat. This person had been who's mind he had projected into. He finally opened his mouth to ask, "What are you talking about?"

The sound of a gun being cocked and the sight of an EE-40 pressing against the brute's head interrupted them as Miranda's voice issued a demand, "Let him go. Now."

The thug slowly released his hold on John, before whipping around and swinging the dagger, missing Miranda by inches. That didn't stop him from backhanding her across the face, causing her to recoil just long enough that he had time to grab her by the shoulder, "Lobo bitch!" He slammed her against the wall and was moments from driving the dagger into her midriff when John leaped onto the thug's back, wrapping his arms around the thug's face in an attempt to obscure his vision. The thug, in response, pushed back, slamming both himself and John into the wall behind them, knocking the breath out of him. The thug glanced back at John, muttering, "I'll deal with you next, traitor," then returned his attention to Miranda just in time to see her pistol-whip him in the face, then follow it up with several punches in the stomach and ending with an uppercut right to the chin.

The thug fell over, reeling, as Miranda immediately looped her free arm under John's shoulder and lifted him to his feet, before pulling him along as she ran out of the alley and into the crowd.

* * *

They had to have been moving through the crowds for at least a few minutes before Miranda finally slowed down and looked around, "I think we lost him..."

She sat down on a nearby bench and gestured for him to sit next to her. Once he did, they stared at nothing for a good few minutes before he finally broke the silence between them, "Okay, can I ask 'what the fuck' yet?"

Miranda sighed, "That guy was a supporter of the ALF."

"The what?"

She leaned forward and looked down for a bit, "The Ape Liberation Front. They rose up some time after the Lylat Wars in response to perceived injustices against them. They want ape Lylatians to be free from discrimination."

John raised an eyebrow, "So… are they actually being discriminated against?"

She sighed, "Their hearts are in the right place, but their minds are going about it all wrong. Yes, society still treats ape Lylatians as if every single one served Andross, but people like him are the reason why the ALF is often despised." She looked up at him, "I had a meeting with their leader, Dash Bowman. He seemed rather likeable, but he doesn't like where the ALF is going as far as the mentality of the group is turning into. He's afraid that it's going to backfire if he can't get them in line and accomplish their goal peacefully."

John said nothing, as he was soon lost in thought about similar activities happening back then, with the whole debacle between how Cerinia and Earth treated each other. Yes, they had come to a consensus, but not without near-constant legal troubles at least for a decade after the whole First Contact had happened.

Miranda leaned back and met his gaze, "That was a brave move, back there. A little training and I'm sure you could've taken him down all on your own."

John shrugged, "I just acted on instinct. Besides, I'd think anyone else would be willing to do that for you." He blushed as soon as he said that, knowing fully that she was going to mess with him about that.

Instead, however, she seemed down, "I wish more people thought like you did. Sadly, you'd be mistaken." She stood up and turned to face him, "I'm a lupine, remember? Some people are just as likely to hate me just for who I am. And even if someone did stand up for me, chances are it would be just to prove that I'm below them."

John stood up and asked, "But, why?"

Miranda shrugged, "I dunno. Some people will find any reason to hate you. Star Wolf teaming up with Andross during the war, our resemblance to the vulpines and canines, the primitive tribes and their association with the moon? The list goes on." She gestured for him to follow her as she started walking. As they walked back to her apartment, she continued, "Being the leader of a mercenary team hasn't exactly made me a paragon of virtue to everyone. For all the fan-mail that Justin gets, I get about twice the hate-mail. People sending me threats and trying to belittle me. I'm just some stupid lobo, I don't have the experience to lead a team, I shouldn't be stealing Justin's spotlight, I should just quit and go back to my tribe, or that I should just end it all."

John's eyebrows raised as he saw a side of her that he imagined few people got to see. Immediately, he felt the need to comfort her, putting a hand on her back and giving her a warm grin, "Well, I think you're pretty great the way you are."

Miranda responded with a half-hearted chuckle, "Yeah, well, you kinda learn to block it all out after a while. It helps to be a little thick-skinned, though." A mischievous smile soon appeared across her face as she glanced up at him, "Now, whadd'ya say we head back to my place and you can show me just what all you'd do for me?"

She laughed as John practically turned beet-red in embarrassment.

* * *

Fay looked up as the door to their apartment opened and in walked a tired-looking Miyu. Without missing a beat, she set aside the book she had been reading and stood up. Miyu sluggishly dropped her bag on the floor of the apartment and looked up just in time for Fay to wrap her arms around her, squeezing her as if she could disappear any moment. Miyu, although surprised, did reciprocate as she felt tears on her shoulder. Fay's breath was shuddering and her entire body was shaking as if she was freezing. Miyu felt a couple tears of her own begin to well-up, but blinked them away as she reassured her, "It's alright. You're safe now. I'm here."

Fay's hand moved to rest on the back of Miyu's head as she buried her face in Miyu's shoulder, finally finding the will to speak, "I… I was so scared, Miyu. I was scared that I'd never see you again, never get to hold you or kiss you or-"

"Fay." Miyu addressed her in a quiet, but assertive tone, "You're okay. Just, please, try to calm down." Fay loosened her grip and met Miyu's gaze as she continued, "Losing your cool won't help us catch this person. We need to show that we won't be broken so easily." Miyu reached up and brushed aside a small lock of hair away from Fay's face, "Besides, we've already been through so much together, we've pulled through. You never lost your cool then, why start now?"

Fay paused for a moment, then nodded slowly, sniffing and looking down. Miyu wiped her eyes and grinned. She placed a hand on Fay's shoulder and guided her back to the bed in their apartment, sitting down and gesturing for Fay to sit next to her. When she did so, they sat in silence for what felt like several minutes before Miyu finally spoke, "Saru has some things that he wants to talk about. Things that he thinks are relevant to the case. So, we're going to head out soon." She looked toward the apartment door, then back to Fay, "Are you comfortable with going back out? At least, long enough to pick up Fara?"

Fay hesitated for a moment, then nodded. Miyu gave her a warm grin before turning to the door when someone knocked. Getting up, Miyu checked to see who it was, then opened the door, "Come on in, Saru." As Saru walked into the apartment, Miyu closed the door behind him and grabbed her own scarf. As she wrapped it around her neck, she blushed when she thought about their first time together. She looked at the ceiling, before turning to Saru, "Watch the apartment until we get back, alright?" He nodded and she turned to Fay, "Put on a sweater, it was starting to rain on my drive back here."

* * *

John rolled his shoulders, doing a quick few stretches as Miranda had instructed. He had decided to take her up on her offer for training and she had promised him a quick session. She'd promised to teach him a couple holds and a couple different strikes to disarm an opponent and hold them down. In the back of his mind, he imagined that 'teaching' in this context meant he was probably going to be on the receiving end of these moves. She had rented out the small gym in the apartment for their session and he figured no harm could come from learning a bit about how to defend himself.

He heard footsteps and turned to see Miranda's gym outfit, and promptly blushed on instinct. It was more or less exactly what he had expected, a typical workout bra, shorts, and what looked like a pair of sparring gloves. However, he still found himself staring at her curves, the athletic form that her softer features sometimes seemed to conceal. He shook his head slightly, trying not to think about that. Miranda gave him a half-smile and he fully expected some half-flirty, half-teasing comment to follow, but she said nothing until she joined him on the thin mats.

"Today, I'm gonna teach you a couple strikes that will help to disarm and incapacitate an opponent without causing too much damage." She clasped her fist in her open hand and added, "You're liable to be sued for assault if you break something unless circumstances can forgive you for it, so we're not going to learn anything dangerous yet." With that, she held out both hands, waving at him, "Now, the easiest way to learn is through experience. So, hit me."

John sputtered, "What?"

Miranda sneered, "Hit me, gimme your best swing. Or, are you too scared to hit a woman?"

John thought for a moment, and suddenly he hit the floor with one arm around his back and a crushing weight on his back. He glanced up and behind him to see Miranda, face neutral, on his back and pinning his arms to his sides, as she told him, "If you hesitate, your opponent will take advantage of that. When someone comes at you, you need to act in the moment, no matter who's attacking you." With that, she let go of his arms and got off of him, "Now, get up, and let's try again."

This time, John didn't hesitate. He charged at her, pulling his fist back, and was promptly swung overhead and onto the mats, landing on his back and knocking the breath out of him, with Miranda's gym shoe on his chest, "Too easy. A blind man could've seen that coming from miles away." She stepped off of him and held out a hand. John hesitated, then tried to get himself up without her help. At that point, he felt numb in his leg and almost fell over again when Miranda caught him. She helped him steady himself and spoke, "If someone charges and swings at you, sweep their legs with a kick in the shin and use their own momentum to throw them onto the ground by grabbing their main arm. Nine times out of ten, they'll remain on the ground disoriented long enough to straddle them and pin their arms to their sides. That will usually give you enough time to knock them out with a punch in the face."

John let go of her and nodded, "I understand." He decided to ask about the other move she had used on him earlier.

"I just kicked your legs out from under you and struck you in the back. That's another easy way to knock someone to the ground long enough to knock them out altogether." She let him go once he had regained his balance and crossed her arms, "Both moves are easy to learn and require relatively little effort on your part to incapacitate your attacker. Now, to teach you an easy trick to disarm someone." She walked over to dig through her bag, pulling out a piece of wood shaped into a dull knife that she handed to him, "Now, picture that this is a real knife and your goal is my purse. Swing at me."

The next couple seconds were confusing for him, as the fake knife was knocked free and he was sent backward, slamming onto the mat and knocking the wind out of him. When he landed, Miranda had already had his knife hand pinned above his head and his other arm pinned to his side by her leg. "A quick strike to the right spot on the wrist will strike a nerve, which will impulsively open the attacker's hand and allow you to take their knife or gun away and perform either of the previous knock-downs I had demonstrated."

She let him back up and picked up the wooden knife, "Now, imagine that I'm the attacker. Try and disarm me and knock me down."

It took quite a few tries before John was finally able to knock the fake knife from her hand, and only after acquiring a few bruises from his previous attempts. But once he did, his body move on autopilot, bringing his foot to her shin and knocking her off-balance, before shoving her to the ground and straddling her, pinning her free hand to her side much like she had done to him. The second he completed the move, his eyes widened when he heard her groan, "Oh no… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you, I just-" He never finished his sentence as her foot struck him in the back and he was suddenly thrown backwards, with a very angry-looking lupine now on top of him.

She seemed serious for a moment, before reassuring him with an approving smile, "Nice try, but you need to be a bit less afraid of asserting yourself, especially in a fight." With that, she got off of him and helped him back to his feet, "You've got a hell of a right kick. Didn't you mention that you had implants inside you?"

John nodded, "Yeah… Back when I did free-running. They're mostly just shock absorbers for keeping my bones from breaking when I land on the rooftop I was jumping from."

Miranda grinned, "You can make use of those. You won't feel the impact of punching someone. But, for now, we'll call it for the day." As she grabbed her gym bag to head to the locker room, she glanced toward him, "You're a fast learner, a couple more sessions and I'm sure the only thing we'd need to be concerned with is keeping in practice."

* * *

Fara had elected to cross her arms and lean against the wall of their apartment while Miyu and Fay had taken seats in the couple chairs in the room, all turned to face Saru, who was leaning against the bed. Fara was glaring at him, but the other two seemed mostly just curious to hear what he had to say.

Saru seemed uncharacteristically nervous, "So… as I'm sure Fara told you by now, I've been doing my own investigation into the murders as of late. I've kept some things secret that are still vital, because it's sensitive information. I've known who the real mastermind was for a couple days now, and his motives for coming after me."

Fara grumbled, "Well, stop dancing around it and tell us what's going on!"

Saru sighed, "Alright. Well, for starters… Saruman isn't my real name." He stood up straighter and took a second to remove what looked like contact lenses from his eyes, revealing blood-red irises underneath the green contact lenses, "My official title… is Captain Percival Andross of the 44th Resistance Platoon and liaison to the mercenary team of Star Wolf. And the one who hired the assassin is known as Fox McCloud."

* * *

A/N

→ Original Content (QuestForce & associated characters) used with permission. Credit goes to Tobias Umbra.

→ As mentioned earlier, psychic drift wasn't all that well understood by humanity before the Outbreak, but what was understood was that it led to the development of 'pseudo-psychic' powers that were largely difficult to control or suppress due to the infrequence of symptoms. However, stress was a possible factor in that higher stress could lead to psychic phenomena manifesting more often. It's likewise suggested that very strong emotional dispositions can trigger some psychic phenomenon as well.

→ And now we get into more weird business with that cliffhanger twist. Don't worry, everything will make sense in time.


	12. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Star Fox © Nintendo. Original Content © Me (See A/N)

* * *

 **Chapter 11** : Reflection

* * *

Fara, Miyu, and Fay stood, eyes wide, jaws dropped at Saru after his declaration. Fara was the first to to anything about it, lashing out at him and punching him right in the jaw. Saru let it happen, as Fara glared through tear-stricken eyes, "You sick bastard! You can't just make a false name and act like you're so pure and good! How did you even survive after the war? A monster like you should've just stayed dead when we killed you the first time!"

She grabbed him by the collar and pulled him down to eye level, "Was it not enough that you nearly wiped out all of Corneria, now you have to play with our trust and our lives for whatever sick plan you've got now?!"

Saru simply said nothing, only looking down and avoiding eye contact with her, until he gently grabbed her wrist and asked, "Please, may I explain what's truly going on?"

Fara pulled her fist back and snarled, "Why should I let you explain anything, you- you-"

"Fara, let him talk."

She turned to face Miyu, "You can't be serious, Miyu! This man- no, Monster- has brought endless suffering everywhere he goes! How can you seriously consider hearing him try and justify all that?!"

Miyu glared at her and she saw the tears in the lynx's eyes, "Fara, that's enough. Let him explain himself and then we'll decide."

Fara tried to glare at Saru and nerve up to punch him again. Her fist shook, and she finally sighed and let him go, falling to her knees and trying not to break into tears.

Saru took a deep breath, "I understand that Andross within this timeline has committed horrible atrocities and know that I do not condone his actions, but… I am real. I come from a different timeline. One where the heroes you're familiar with are just pawns of a cruel dictator with the entire system under his rule, except for the small rebel force that I lead."

Fara looked up at him, "You're lying." She wanted to believe he was, but something about the way he said everything just seemed true.

Saru shook his head, "I had anticipated that something like this would be questioned. Which is why I'm going to reveal another secret. In my personal quarters, you'll find a fake wall that conceals a Warp-Ring prototype from my reality. It is fully-functional, but I can't activate it without a power source. I can prove my claims. But, we do have more pressing matters at hand."

Miyu stood up, hands clenched into fists, as she glared, "Now, how does Fox fit into all of this?"

Saru remained steadfast, "This Fox isn't the one from your timeline. He's the one from my timeline, a sadistic and cold-hearted killer employed by the Emperor to lead his Armada. However, ever since the fall of that Empire, he fled and I've been trying to track him down and bring him in for his crimes against the people." He looked down, "But, it seems that, in my attempts to follow him, he may have been following me instead. And he's employed forces in this universe that we don't fully understand to try and ensure that this Lylat System falls before him just as my Lylat System did."

Miyu fell back into her chair, rubbing her forehead, "Sweet Lyla..." She looked at him, "Alright, so, say that your story checks out and we can prove that this Fox is behind the killings, how are we supposed to find him and stop him from doing… whatever he's trying to accomplish?"

Saru looked downtrodden, "I haven't gotten that far yet. He's exceptionally good at covering his tracks, and I got this far only because I convinced one of his current assassins to turn her back on him."

Fay's eyes widened, "Krystal..."

Saru nodded, "She doesn't know everything about him yet, but she's given us a lead to try and track him down. However, we'll need to find him quickly. There's no telling when he'll put his plans into motion."

Miyu sighed, "Well, what exactly is our lead? We can't exactly go knocking on the _Great Fox_ 's door and say, 'Hi, this is Andross and he thinks that an evil version of you is part of a plot to overthrow the ruling body of Lylat to replace it with an anarchistic dictatorship.'"

Saru shook his head, "Of course we aren't going to get this Star Fox involved. Even, assuming they'd believe everything I've told you, getting them involved would be too risky, especially toward the Fox of this timeline." He produced a folder from his bag, "This, however, contains a list of fake addresses and dummy accounts that Krystal's client has been using to pay for her services. Each of these accounts can be tracked to a server somewhere in the system, proxies notwithstanding. If nothing else, it gives us our first real lead to find this man and stop him before he can accomplish his goals."

* * *

Serrin had been mostly distracted with trying to locate Yaru's shooter recently, and hadn't really given much thought to other things, such as Sabre's growing discomfort with the silence while she had worked. It had only been a couple days and the police, against what she had expected, hadn't shown up for any sort of investigation or interview yet. Nevertheless, Sabre had convinced her that he could handle it, and she had every confidence in him should they come knocking.

What she was more occupied with was trying to find a lead on any sort of killer that fit the description of Yaru's shooter. She had some hint about it when she noticed a chain of killings within a specific area that seemed to stand out for it's bizarre aspects, mainly the fact that all the victims seemed to have been drained of blood.

She tried to look back through her knowledge of Cerinian myth to see if maybe she could find answers. She hadn't really had much experience in that regard, having spent most of her life training, fighting, and protecting her Matriarch.

As she did, she recalled a bit about humanity. She recalled that one of their attempts to fight back against the growing nanoviral menace was to try and alter their own souls to accept a Krazoa's body into their own for protection. During that, they had almost succeeded, except for one major flaw, the effect the Krazoa's power had on the human body. Even at it's most basic, human beings were unable to cast even simple spells without making use of Cerinian runes either tattooed on or stitched into their clothing, and even still, the effect it had tended to be rather taxing as humans were naturally inclined to solving their problems through persistence and physical effort.

When they thought they had finally succeeded in creating the proper magic circle to enable such a bond, the results were drastic, as the host was physically altered, becoming intensely photophobic and rabid when even under a dim light. Their bloodthirst became literal, as they grew fangs and sharpened claws. But, when their bloodthirst was satiated, they could only feel disgust towards all unlike them, but retained some sort of charisma that let them sweet-talk other humans into believing that they were fine until they had attempted to either kill them, or force them to transform into monsters like them through exposure to the same Krazoa energy. Save for a single alleged success that she never got to see, the experiment was terminated and the altered humans were either imprisoned on the sites they were created in, or left to die to the nanovirus just like everyone else.

Serrin thought about it, and wondered if perhaps something similar had happened to a Cornerian, but soon found herself wondering how knowledge of the Krazoa came to them. As far as she was aware, the Krazoa had been with Cerinia for as long as history remembered, but…

She shook her head in denial. They had never outright said that Cerinia was destroyed or that something terrible had happened. All they had said was that they had never had contact with any alien species like the Cerinians. She paused mid-thought, recalling one legend she had been told when she was younger, a legend from one of the "elder" Krazoa, who's age could only really be distinguished by how dimly it shimmered and the traces of red light in it's body. A legend that spoke of a time when a group of Krazoa had split off and attempted to purge themselves of everything they perceived as impure about themselves, becoming corrupted and violent beings. She recognized that it was supposed to be a fable to teach her a lesson about the evils of perfection and about striving for balance, but something about that seemed to stick out to her. It made her wonder if perhaps that tale was based on truth in some manner, that there was something going on here with a sort of evil Krazoa that was twisting people here in the same manner that humankind had been twisted.

A knock on the door interrupted her and Sabre answered it. Neither of them recognized the short, green, amphibian Lylatian that was standing there, but from a glance at his emotions, both could tell that he meant no harm, "Is this Yaru's apartment?"

* * *

Krystal sat cross-legged in the cabin of her ship. She hadn't bothered to take the cloak off herself yet. She mostly just waited. Saru had said something about getting in contact with her in the near future, and she was at the moment waiting for the A.I. to start badgering her. The holographic cube that she had come to associate with MIRA soon appeared and floated around her, "Well? Are you happy? Not only have we lost our contract, but now they know who you are, our employer is likely sending someone to take you out, and on top of that, you've somehow managed to get yourself into the crosshairs of some crazy fast homicidal maniac." Krystal opened her eyes to meet the A.I.'s glare, "Is there anything else you'd like to tell me?"

Krystal's gaze remained neutral, but her tone as she addressed the A.I. was a bit more impatient, "For what it's worth, I'd have thought you'd be grateful after I rescued you from your little graveyard. But outside of our jobs, all you've done is complain. I've made my decision, and I feel that it's time I regained what I lost. Now, either you have my back, or you don't. Either way, I do not care anymore."

MIRA huffed before disappearing, giving Krystal some time to herself. A message popped up to notify her of an incoming call, which she answered. Saru's face appeared on the screen, "The others will need some time to mull it over, but they've more-or-less agreed to help us with the investigation and capture of this employer of yours. But, we'll need some help in the meantime."

Krystal went straight to the heart of the issue, "You need help catching Yaru's would-be killer?"

Saru nodded, "And to do that, we should start by investigating the places where we've encountered her. I'm thinking that we start with where Fay was first abducted. Unless you want to investigate the ruins first?"

Krystal thought about it, "Any reason why we can't just split up?"

Saru shook his head, "As practical as that may be, I feel that we might be better off sticking together in case she tries again to abduct one of us, or worse."

Krystal gave a half-hearted chuckle, "Star Lynx doesn't wanna let me out of their sight for this investigation, do they?"

Saru sighed, "It was the only way I could convince them to let me keep you in the loop about the investigation." He looked back up at her, "I am serious about what I said regarding sticking together, though."

Krystal nodded, "Since we're getting all friendly and whatnot, you wanna tell me more about my employer? Something tells me that you know more than I do."

Saru nodded, "In time. But don't go discrediting yourself, the quantity of information isn't as important as the quality. After all, what little you found on him is everything vital that I need to connect the dots and crack this whole case wide open."

Krystal felt a small swell of pride when he said that. She did feel like it had been quite some time since she had received a compliment that felt genuine. Then again, everything she had felt from Saru, at least from glimpses she could catch of his mind, he had always seemed like he wanted to be genuine and seemed to care about his people. She wouldn't be all that surprised if he actually meant it.

She nodded, "There is one thing I need to take care of, then I'm free to help with the investigation to my greatest potential."

Saru grinned, "We'll see you there." He then hung up and Krystal resumed her meditation.

MIRA appeared once again, "Are you absolutely sure this is the best course of action?"

Krystal didn't open her eyes, "As I said before, I've made my decision, and I think this is the right decision." She could feel MIRA's irritation and simply added, "Making the right choice can be very easy once you understand the scope of what's at stake. It's following through with your choices that can be difficult." She finally opened her eyes, "Just remember to follow your heart."

MIRA seemed oddly disappointed, "Is that so?" There was a long pause before she continued, "If that is the case, then… I'm leaving. My heart is telling me that I can't stand with you if you're going to decide to flinch out of this contract."

Krystal sighed, "Very well. But, if we cross paths again after this, know that I'm not your friend."

There was a brief flicker as the nanotech embedded within the starship began shifting and flowing, finding it's way out of the ship, with MIRA's parting words to her leaving her staring at the wall, "If we cross paths again, I'm going to kill you, bounty or not."

* * *

John must've dozed off, because when he woke up, he realized he was sitting in one of the chairs in Miranda's apartment, and it was getting closer to the evening. He looked around and soon noticed that the sliding glass door to the balcony was open and Miranda was leaning against the hand-rail, staring at the evening city.

He stood up and walked over toward the open door, before taking a cautious step out onto the balcony. Miranda, without giving any indication that she knew he was there, muttered aloud, "City's beautiful at night… isn't it?"

John stood still for a moment, uncertain of what to say, before deciding to join her, leaning against the hand-rail. He took some time to observe the city. He quickly found himself lost in how lively the city looked even at night, with people still driving down the streets, logos and other assorted street signs lighting up to provide specks of color among the black canvases of several buildings that were each covered with specks of white apartment lights. He felt a hand on his face and turned to see Miranda as she wiped a tear from his eyes, "You miss your home, don't you?"

John took some time to think about it, then nodded, "I miss what it used to be… There was once a time when cities back on Earth were this lively. Even before we met the Cerinians, we were never a species for dull moments..." He looked back out to the city, "...I do miss it all. The lights, the traffic, the people..." He took a moment to recompose himself, "...I guess coming to terms with humanity's extinction is still in the cards for me, huh?"

Miranda gave him a soft, genuine smile, "It's not like you have to go through this alone. Tell you what, you ever want to come work with QuestForce, we'll have a spot for you here. Only condition is that you'll have to train extra hard, seeing as you've got no real CQC training beyond what I've already taught you."

John glanced at her, then back out to the city, "You sure that's a good idea? I don't want to put you in another crosshair."

Miranda patted him on the back, "I'm serious. You've got the physical build for this line of work, and you've already shown a willingness to learn. Trust me, we'll have you in fighting-shape and taking down big-time crooks in only a few months, at the most."

John stared up at the moon, "...I'll have to talk with Serrin and Sabre. They'll probably have a spare suit for me to wear while I'm on-camera."

Miranda thought about it for a moment, "Spare suit?"

John glanced at her, "Starwing Armor. Didn't I mention that last time we talked? It was one of the last great projects of humankind, and one of the first projects to be a joint-effort between humanity and Cerinia. Serrin and Sabre are pilots of that armor and I had just started learning the basics of it before I went into stasis."

Miranda nodded, "If you think it's a good idea. You know that if it's on camera, we'll probably have police and/or military asking questions, right?"

John nodded, "I'd rather take that chance. If it gives me a way to move on, I'm all for it. Besides, if your media is anything like human media, I'm sure they would notice the disappearance of someone strange like me." He sighed and leaned against the hand-rail, "How are you gonna convince your friend Justin that I'm a good addition to the team?"

Miranda scoffed, "I'm sure he'll listen if I flash my tits at him." She looked down at the streets, "Trust me when I say that he'll never accept it, but seeing as I'm still his leader, I can pull rank on him." She turned to him and grinned, "Of course, that means that if you accept, I can pull rank on you as well."

John blushed and she chuckled, "I would like to see you on the team, though. I think that might help you build up your confidence." She held out her hand to him, "So… what do you say?"

John glanced at her outstretched hand, then grinned, "It's a deal. When can I look forward to starting training?"

Miranda stifled a yawn and glanced toward the open door, "How about the day after tomorrow? Same time, same place? Give you some time to bring the good news to your friends, and see about getting one of those Starwing Armors as well. I'm actually kinda interested in seeing one of those for myself."

* * *

A/N

→ Original Content (QuestForce & associated characters) used with permission. Credit goes to Tobias Umbra.


	13. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: Star Fox © Nintendo. Original Content © Me (See A/N)

* * *

 **Chapter 12** : Scars

* * *

Miyu, Fay, and Fara had agreed to stay in the skycar while Saru got out near the alleyway and walked in. He saw Krystal standing in the alley, staring up at the gray morning sky and waved. She waved back, hesitating when she saw Fara glaring at her from the back seat before he'd shut the door. Saru walked through the alleyway and into the small back area, "I'm here. So, where shall we start?"

Krystal glanced at the corpse. It was, for whatever reason, still there. She turned back to Saru, "Police will be here soon and they'll want to close this area off. If anything, I think we should start with the corpse." She soon caught sight of a second corpse, this one a small, flying creature she didn't recognize, save for a passing resemblance to the wild bats that she had seen the one time she had gone cave-exploring. Saru followed her gaze to the creature, then commented, "If you take a look at that corpse, I'll check this thing out."

Krystal nodded and they went to work. Upon examining the corpse, Krystal noticed the smell of Substance D and felt a bit nauseous. She had never experienced a trip from it before, but Fox had told her about a time when Wolf had drugged him using it's base chemical, dalianide. When she saw the hallucinations he had experienced from a glimpse at his memories, she was utterly horrified. Nevertheless, she worked up the strength to get in a bit closer to inspect. The old, dried, rusty bloodstains had a strange, black tinge to them, not at all like she would've expected dried blood to look like. She knelt down to get a closer look and felt something in the back of her mind. It almost felt like an all-encompassing hunger, a deep-seated hatred for… something. Whatever it was, it was too faint to make out, but what she could hear in her mind was too chaotic for her to make it out. She could only make out that it was somehow pure unadulterated wrath. There was most definitely something supernatural about this substance, so she glanced up at Saru, "Do you have something we can use to take samples with? There's something here that I would like to get a closer look at."

Saru glanced up from the corpse and nodded. He reached into his bag and pulled out a small, tube-shaped device, "I'd brought this as a quick chemical analysis in light of our killer's methods. Here." He handed the device to Krystal, then went back to his own examinations of the other creature. It's head had been rendered a bloody mess, presumably from Miyu's pistol, like she had mentioned when he asked her about it. Somehow, there was a stagnant puddle of blood around the creature, when he had figured that any normal bloodstain would've dried up by now. He soon noticed that much like Krystal had pointed out, there was a similar black fluid in the blood that he figured would be worth looking into. He pulled out a second chemical analyzer and drained a small sample for them to look at. After taking the sample, he glanced at Krystal, "We should take these to a forensics lab. I have the equipment for this kind of testing back on the _Livid Vixen_ if you'd be willing to come with us."

Krystal shook her head, "No need. I know where we can get access to a closer lab that might be willing to help us out."

Saru raised an eyebrow, "Can I ask where this lab is?"

Krystal nodded, "One of Star Fox's old Corneria-based headquarters. They sold the base some time ago after the Lylat Wars to law enforcement, and last I checked, the place is still in use. I know the chief there, he owes me a favor for helping him with an internal investigation. I can get him to give us access to forensics equipment within the next hour."

Saru nodded, "Very good. Now, should we head back to the ruins to investigate, or do you want to get those tests over with first?"

Krystal glanced at the tube in her hand, and the dark liquid within. She could still feel the twinge of it's chaotic mind no matter how slight, "I think we should get the tests over with first. Something tells me that the results of that test will get us closer to finding our killer than whatever we find at the ruins."

Saru nodded, "It's settled then. We'll meet at the office. You'll come and get us once you get access to the forensics lab, right?"

Krystal nodded, "It's a promise."

* * *

"Can we help you?" Sabre was a bit cautious about the frog Cornerian, seeing as he was asking for Yaru by name.

The frog smiled, "The name's Slippy. I'm with the Star Fox team and I was looking for Yaru. Is he in right now?"

Sabre shook his head, "He's still in the hospital when we last checked. We're hoping to hear from him within the next week. May we ask what you need?"

Slippy frowned, "He's still in the hospital? I was told that he had been checked out recently and wanted to come and check on him."

Serrin walked up to the door, "How do you know him?"

Slippy was quick to answer, "He was my teacher back when I was in the Academy. Are you new students of his?"

Sabre and Serrin exchanged glances before Sabre replied, "We're just living with him for the moment. He's agreed to help us with some stuff. You want to tell us what you wanted to ask him so we can pass a message along?"

Slippy nodded, "I was hoping he still had a copy of some old blueprints that I had sent him a while back. I had asked him to pass them on to one of his engineering friends to see if he'd had any luck reconstructing them, because I may have found something very recently that could be the final piece of the puzzle."

None of them had any time to speak as the building erupted into a massive fireball. The building collapsed in on itself, structures suddenly breaking and chunks of the apartment complex fell onto pedestrians and occupants alike.

* * *

John's eyes widened in a mixture of shock and fear, Miranda's mouth hung open, breathless, as the two of them watched the apartment complex fall. John had intended to go visit Serrin and Sabre about his job offer, and he had asked Miranda if she could accompany him so he could introduce them. But, now, the only thoughts on his mind were their safety, as he suddenly broke into a mad sprint toward ground-zero, despite Miranda's call for him to wait.

When he arrived at the site of the explosion, his panic overtook any rational thought as he ran into the wreckage without any regard for his own safety. He called out for them amidst the smoke and dust, "Serrin! Sabre!" He coughed and covered his mouth to try and keep from inhaling the smoke as he plunged deeper into the wreckage. He spotted a body and recognized it as the desk clerk, eyes wide open in a blank, dead stare under the rubble. He moved through the embers and rubble and tried to call out for them again, only to spot a shape moving as the smoke began to clear up. A familiar teal glow began emanating from under a large chunk of ferroconcrete and warped steel rods.

John wasted no time in rushing over to it and trying to lift the debris out of the way, only for his strength to be outmatched as the gravitational field of Serrin's Starwing Armorsuit gave her the edge to push it away. Her helmet was the only piece of her armor that hadn't been equipped and she met John's panicked eyes, before looking down at something. John followed her gaze, expecting to see Sabre, but was surprised to see an amphibian Lylatian, unscratched, but clearly shaken up, curled up into a ball with his hands over his head. He opened his eyes and gazed up at Serrin, before turning to John as Miranda finally caught up to him. Breathless, her eyes widened as she recognized the Lylatian in question, "Slippy?"

Serrin's eyes suddenly widened in fear as she realized Sabre wasn't around, "Sabre?" She looked around frantically, before leaping out of the crater that had formed when she had impulsively activated her suit in an attempt to protect Sabre and Slippy. She looked around before activating a small holographic lens to scan for his Starwing Armor, praying that he was alright. She soon picked up his signal in the debris and followed it to find it under large chunks of the former-apartment. Activating her suit's G-Manipulator, she maneuvered her fingers under the ferroconcrete chunk and lifted it off the pile. She went to grab the next one when she froze. Her breath hitched as she took in what she saw before her. John, Miranda, and Slippy finally caught up with her in time to see it as well. What was clearly a gauntlet from Sabre's Starwing Armorsuit lay in the rubble, in a pool of blood, with the rest of the armor obscured by the debris crushing it. Tears began falling from Serrin's eyes as she mustered the strength to speak, "S-Sabre…?"

* * *

After a moment of convincing from Miranda for the quartet to get out of the wreckage before police arrived, they had arrived at Miranda's apartment. Serrin had deactivated her Starwing Armor and borrowed John's coat to keep herself somewhat covered, seeing as the armor had torn her clothes up, barring her mostly-intact undergarments, when she had activated her armor.

Back at Miranda's apartment, Slippy had finally managed to stop shaking and had, with Miranda's permission, gotten onto her computer to try and pull up security footage over the past hour. Miranda only knew Slippy through a couple talks they had back in the Academy. He really loved his mechanics stuff, but she wasn't afraid to admit that they had kinda lost touch after he had joined Star Fox.

Serrin had said nothing, having sat down on Miranda's bed and had continued staring at the wall across from the bed, a vacant, shocked look in her eyes. John, despite Miranda's earlier presumptions, seemed to be handling it a little better. She wondered if losing so many people, including people who had to have been close to him, had left him somewhat numb to it. She could still tell he wasn't exactly feeling the best either, as he took a seat and mostly just stared at the floor.

John finally spoke up, "...Serrin, what do we do now?"

Serrin seemed to say nothing, not even acknowledging when he waved at her. He finally stood up, placed both hands on her shoulders, and looked her right in the eyes, "We aren't going to let this go, are we?"

Serrin seemed lost, "...John, Sabre's gone… There's nothing we can do for him."

John's brow furrowed, "No, there is." He took a deep breath, "I'm done losing people and doing nothing but feeling sorry for myself. Serrin, there's something going on and it's got to do with that kidnapper. I'm going to find out whoever did this and..." He paused, before looking Serrin in the eyes, serious, "I'm going to kill them."

Serrin looked up at him, eyes wide, "John?"

John nodded, "Sabre might not have wanted it personally, but whoever blew up that building killed a lot of people. Some of them would want to be avenged, and I'm going to do it. All I'm asking is if you'll be willing to continue training me with the Starwing Armorsuit like we had started to so long ago."

Serrin stared at the ground, before shaking her head, "I can't." She looked back up at John, tears streaking down her face, "I don't want you to put yourself in danger just for vengeance. You could get killed, John! Please, I don't want to lose both my brothers." She wrapped her arms around John's waist, burying her face in his chest.

John, after a moment, wrapped his arms around her and in a gentle voice, said, "You won't lose me, sister. I've already begun combat training, I just need your help in learning the Starwing Armorsuit. I don't want to have to rely on other people anymore, I want to stand up for others just as you did. I don't want to lose anyone else either, but the only way we can stop that from happening is to stand up and fight back."

Serrin sniffed and looked back up at him, tightening her lips, then with a shaking sigh, she looked down, "...Alright. I will teach you everything I know." She looked back up at him, "But only after you finish your basics with your other tutor."

Miranda gave a half-smile, "John's already got the body for CQC, and when he punches, he hits like a truck. I think I can have him ready by the end of next week."

Slippy poked his head in and in a low voice, asked Miranda, "They're siblings?"

She glanced at him and replied, "Honorbound siblings. It's complicated."

Slippy shrugged, changing the subject, "I may have found something interesting on some of the street-cams in the area." He gestured for Miranda to follow him and pulled up a recording of a couple sky-lanes. One skyvan, an armored vehicle much like one would normally expect to find belonging to a bank had pulled up at one of the lights. She eyed it with curiosity, until noting that something flew overhead right before the explosions started.

She glanced at Slippy, who continued, "I've taken the liberty of sending the footage to ROB. He found shadows visible in the footage and calculated their trajectory. We suspect that whoever blew up the building did so via a bombing run, presumably to have a quick getaway."

Miranda raised an eyebrow, "What were you doing there, Slippy?"

Slippy looked up at her, "I was going to visit Yaru. I was told he'd been released from the hospital and was already back at his apartment. I was there to ask him about some blueprints he'd passed along to some of his other friends who work with that kind of stuff."

Slippy returned his attention to the computer when it dinged with a notification. He opened it and checked, "ROB just sent me Yaru's patient status. He's… still checked in at the hospital."

Miranda raised an eyebrow, "You think someone set you up?"

Slippy placed a hand on his face, "...I hope not, because if that's the case, then I'm a bigger fool than I thought."

Miranda placed a hand on his back, "Hey, everybody makes mistakes. You wanna tell me who told you this?"

Slippy looked up at her, "Fox told me. He had a copy of Yaru's 'check-out form' saying that he filled it out on Yaru's behalf."

Miranda seemed confused, "I thought Fox was leader of the Star Fox team?"

Slippy returned her confusion with a look of concern, "He is, which is why I'm nervous about this. All this seems too much of a coincidence for it to be anything else. But… Why would Fox lie about something like this?"

Miranda shook her head, "I have no idea."

They were interrupted by a ring, followed by John answering, "Hello?"

John winced as Fara's voice came through with a frantic barrage of questions about his, Serrin's, and Sabre's wellbeing. It took him some time to finally get through to her and assure her that he was alright, and that Serrin was still with them. The hard part came through when he finally found the courage to tell her about Sabre. There was a pause from her end, and when she finally spoke, it was to tell him to be very careful from now on, seeing as whoever was after them really wanted them dead at this point.

* * *

A/N

→ Original Content (QuestForce & associated characters) used with permission. Credit goes to Tobias Umbra.


	14. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: Star Fox © Nintendo. Original Content © Me (See A/N)

* * *

 **Chapter 13** : Discoveries & Deception

* * *

Fara's ears folded back as she ended her call and closed her eyes, her head drooping. She turned to face rest of the team and opened her eyes to see them waiting in anticipation, "...Sabre's among the casualties from the attack."

Krystal's ears folded back as soon as she heard Fara. She hadn't gotten to know either Serrin or Sabre, other than that brief encounter while she was with the others during Fay's rescue and John's brief mention that they were Cerinian. She felt oddly depressed that he was gone, though she wasn't sure if it was because it meant she was another step closer to her own kind's extinction, or because she never got to really know him. She would have to speak with John again about Sabre at some point.

Saru placed a hand on Krystal's shoulder, "We can mourn him later. For now, we still need to analyze this sample. Don't forget, we're all targets now, and if we don't learn who- or rather 'what'- we're fighting, we could all end up dead." Krystal glanced at Saru to see him looking stoic, despite the obvious pain in his expression. She understood after a moment, they had risked themselves to bring those three survivors home and now one of them was dead.

She nodded, "I agree… We're too exposed here. Let's hurry and get this done so we can prepare for another potential attack."

* * *

Slippy's eyes widened in panic as an implication crossed his mind as he quietly muttered, "Oh no..."

Miranda turned to him and asked, "What's wrong?"

Slippy gestured for her to lean closer so he didn't have to talk as loud, "Long story short, I've got several blueprints and prototypes that I had been tinkering with. Blueprints for some very powerful weaponry that I'm suddenly very weary of letting Fox get his hands on. I'll need your help with getting them outta the way."

Miranda's eyes widened, "What kind of powerful weaponry are we talking about here?"

Slippy muttered, "The kind that could level entire buildings and annihilate dreadnought-class starships in a single shot."

Miranda was half-inclined to not believe him, but had a moment of clarity and asked, "How did you get the blueprints for these weapons?"

Slippy glanced at John, who was still trying to comfort a grieving Serrin, "I salvaged them from a broken satellite while we were in orbit over his world."

Miranda glanced at John and Serrin, then turned back to Slippy, "You have a way of getting that stuff off of the Great Fox without him noticing? And how are you so sure that he'd want them?"

Slippy bit his lip, "I'm not sure that Fox is entirely himself. He hasn't been quite the same since that trip to Zoness. If he'd lie about Yaru just to set me up like that, I wouldn't trust him with any of those weapons. And don't worry about getting them off the Great Fox, I've got a plan."

He took the time to get in touch with ROB once again, "Listen, this is very, very important. Those blueprints that you and I got off that satellite, remember them? I need you to get them onto a flash-drive and delete all copies in the Great Fox's database. And, I'll need you to transport them along with all those prototypes to one of the safe-houses." Slippy paused when ROB inquired for the reason, "I have a feeling someone is looking for them, just do as I say and do **not** tell a single person about it. Not even Peppy. Thank you, ROB. Don't worry, I'll explain everything later."

He ended the call and turned to Miranda, "If you can take me to this address," he pulled up a quick display of the location in question, "I will need your help with getting it all hidden."

Miranda looked at the address carefully, "...This is in Old Cornelius City. Why there?"

Slippy put the cell-phone away, "Before mercenary teams were openly accepted into society, we operated covertly, which means that James McCloud had several safe-houses established in the event that they were found out. Those safe-houses are still there, despite the city being in ruins after that attack, they were built using the strongest available materials and could withstand even the force of a direct meteor-strike. That makes it the ideal place to hide a bunch of high-powered weaponry."

Miranda understood, "Alright. Although, I think we should get the other two involved."

Slippy nodded, then added, "Honestly, we could use all the help we can get."

Miranda sighed, "I know. But, knowing Justin, he'd try to bring a filming crew along just for the views."

Slippy smirked, "You're the leader of QuestForce, aren't you? Pull rank on him and make him take this seriously."

Miranda gave a half-hearted laugh, "If only it were that easy… But, I'll talk with Justin and Zee and get them to come along."

Slippy's cell pinged and when he checked, he commented, "It's done. ROB's got all of it out. Now, we just need to get to it quickly."

* * *

"Hey, Miyu." The lynx looked up when her name was called. Saru was gesturing for her to come over, "You need to see this." She followed his voice and glanced up at the holo-vision screen as he pulled up a real-time video of a bunch of objects she realized were cells. She glanced at Saru, "This is a sample of my blood. Now, watch as I add a small portion of the sample we took."

She observed the screen and saw a couple mysterious objects appear. They were smaller than a normal cell, having a weird appearance with tendrils that seemed to reach out at the healthy cells, sticking to it and pulling it into the smaller object. It grew much bigger for a few moments, then promptly split into three smaller versions of itself. She glanced at Saru, "What exactly am I looking at?"

Saru looked at the screen, "Whatever we found at the murder scene, it's not any life-form we've ever seen before. In fact, I'm not entirely sure it's even alive at all. It doesn't match the properties of any virus, parasite, or even bacterium within the Disease Control Agency's database, but it has no resemblance to Aparoid Nanotechnology either. It almost seems like a form of viral cancer, except for the fact that the electron-microscope can't seem to find traces of _any_ known elements in these things."

Miyu's eyes widened, "You mean…?"

Saru nodded, "Whatever we're dealing with is not even a living organism or mechanism. It's an entirely new form of life that we've never dealt with before. However, there is something interesting about this creature that I believe we can use to track it. Observe." The screen changed to show the same recording, but this time, it also showed a graph on one side of the screen, "This is a simple electromagnetic detector. Now, watch the graph as the cells are attacked."

The graph proceeded to start spiking as soon as the dark, microbial shadows began consuming the cells again. The readings remained at a higher, stable rate as the shadows finished their attack. Miyu glanced at Saru, "These things give off an electromagnetic signal that we can track. We can find our mysterious killer this way, and in turn, that could lead us to-" He cut himself off before he could say Fox's name as he remembered that Krystal wasn't aware of his actual identity. He glanced at Miyu after checking to see if Krystal was watching and finished with, "Our killer's employer."

"I've seen something like this before." Krystal's voice echoed across the forensics lab and they turned to her as she walked over to the screen. "Back when..." She paused for a moment, mentally psyching herself up to say it, "...My homeworld perished, I saw something much like this attacking the Cerinian people. They were shadows that could move and act on their own, and they craved the blood of the living, because it made them stronger."

Miyu and Saru glanced at each other as Krystal continued, "When they killed and consumed someone, they took that person's form. So, we tried to seal them away using Dark Matter Keystones much like those found on Sauria. Only… We weren't entirely prepared for an outside influence, as they started coming through and killing everything they could get their hands on when Andross tried to crack our world open to get at the power inside."

Saru's eyes widened as the implication settled in, "You think that this killer is…" He pursed his lips, before turning to Miyu, "We absolutely need to stop that murderer, if he's made a deal with these things, he could turn them loose on the Lylat System and have the whole system at his mercy within minutes!"

Krystal's ears folded back, "Seconds. After all, that's how long it took for them to overwhelm Cerise's Keep when they were released, from the other side of the planet."

As they left the lab, Miyu pulled Saru aside after telling the others to meet them outside to ask, "If these are the forces that your Fox made a deal with, how do you know so much about them?"

Saru was reluctant to answer until Miyu asked, "You've dealt with them before, haven't you?"

Saru nodded, "In yet another time-line. In this one, the Lylat Wars never happened, so they were so much more technologically advanced and had even established contact with humanity and Cerinia in that time-line… But they were dangerously unprepared for when my Fox, whom I had followed into that time-line, ended up there and uncovered Sauria there, and the whisperings of those monsters. He broke the Spellstones used to seal them in and when the planet exploded in the ensuing Dark Energy flare, it created a rift storm that these things swarmed through. They consumed that entire system within seven minutes of their release, pulling it through the rift and into whatever hell-realm they first came from. That was how I first encountered them. They didn't kill me because Fox had some kind of control over them, and he wanted me to see him triumph, and remind me that I was nothing but a failure in light of his newfound power."

Miyu rubbed her forehead, "Other time-lines, extradimensional shadow monsters, you know how crazy all of this sounds? If not for the fact that I'm seeing a lot of this with my own eyes, I'd think you had gone off the rails."

Saru nodded, "I understand that it's a very difficult concept to grasp, but if we do not stop him from releasing more of them, then this time-line will fall too." He placed a hand on Miyu's shoulder, "Believe me when I say that I won't let that happen. I will keep Star Lynx, and the rest of this system, safe from harm no matter how high the cost."

She brushed his hand off her shoulder, "Don't talk like that, Saru. We're in this together, it's our responsibility to see it through to the end."

Saru nodded, "Alright."

They were interrupted by Miyu's cell-phone. She glanced at it and answered it, "Hello?" She paused when she recognized the voice, before replying, "We'll be there to help in a bit." She put her cell-phone away and spoke to Saru, "That was John. He says he wants our help with something that Slippy's got going on."

* * *

John looked around at the safe-house in question. He was still getting used to the feeling of the Starwing Armor currently hugging his body. Serrin had managed to call his out of Subspace, even though he hadn't actually gotten to wear it other than one time prior to his stasis-nap. She had insisted that he wear it anyway, giving him a sort of crash-course on how the flight mechanics of the Starwing Armor worked.

All around them were a series of weapons that he actually recognized. These were weapons that Slippy had said he'd built from blueprints he'd found on Earth, but to see so many was a little disturbing. He soon found himself staring at a flintlock made of black metal and gilded with gold-like metal forming intricate swirls and the like on the barrel, and the chrome revolver-like clip integrated into the weapon. He picked it up and admired it, before turning to Slippy, "You said you built most of these?"

Slippy nodded, "Yeah, that one you're holding was apparently called the Pierre-32. The inscription on the blueprints describes it as a 'flintlock-style break-action shotgun-revolver.'" He walked over toward a massive, rocket-launcher weapon that John recognized instantly, "This one, however, was the one I was most worried about Fox getting."

John put the flintlock down and walked over to Slippy, taking the weapon in, "...I've only seen rumors of this weapon, and even a glimpse of the blueprints… This is..."

Slippy nodded, "You know, your people were absolutely insane to design something like this. Harnessing the primal, arcane forces of the universe just to obliterate a target?"

John picked up the weapon, the Starwing Armor adjusting it's G-manipulator to account for the weapon's weight. He couldn't help caressing the golden metal plates concealing the deep, red circuitry and runes embedded into the black metal frame of the weapon. He lifted it up and mounted it on his shoulder, grasping the one handle while steadying the weapon with his free hand. He admired the weapon for a minute before setting it back down and turning to Slippy, "You're crazy for actually building the weapon. Why would you need it?"

Slippy thought about it for some time, "Considering that we had visited _the_ original Aparoid homeworld, I didn't want to take any chances, especially if they were to show up again. How come your kind never built the weapon?"

John thought about it, "Well, legal issues aside, the problem with that weapon was that for it to work, it needed materials that existed either only in theory, or materials that we could actually produce, but not in a cost-efficient manner. There were many guesses and rumors about how the weapon would've functioned, ranging from blasting a high-powered laser that could cut through nearly any material to firing a charged ball of energy that could ricochet off of surfaces, electrocuting everything around it and drawing in nearby objects until it exploded." He stared at the weapon for a long time, "There were guesses about the name of the weapon, since the blueprints only ever referred to it as the 'Big Cannon.' Names like 'Blast Field Generator' and 'Exorcist Cannon.'"

Slippy bit his lip, "I actually came up with a name of my own for this weapon." They turned to him as in a low voice, he spoke the name out loud, "I call it, the 'Demon Launcher.'"

* * *

When Miyu and her group had arrived at the location in question, they had no real idea what to expect, but finding Slippy with a large arsenal hidden away was not among them, nor was finding John in his own Starwing Armor. Once they got past the initial shock, Miyu went on ahead and asked, "You said you needed our help with something?"

Slippy went on ahead and explained everything that he had prior, but when he finished, Saru seemed rather interested in him mentioning Zoness, "You said Fox hasn't been himself since a trip to Zoness? What exactly was he going to do there originally?"

Slippy tried to remember, "I think he said he was on the trail of something big, and when he came back, he said that it was a dead end."

Saru nodded, "Perhaps we should check it out ourselves then."

John glanced at Serrin and Miranda, the latter of whom replied, "We'll keep things calm on this end. Besides, someone'll need to keep an eye on things here."

Slippy shook his head, "I think I should go with you. Whatever caused Fox to start acting all weird like this might still be there. It might be more ideal for me to go at least." He glanced at the trio, "It would help tremendously if you three kept an eye on everything here."

Miyu nodded, "If you think you can help, then feel free to come with us."

* * *

A/N

→ Original Content (QuestForce & associated characters) used with permission. Credit goes to Tobias Umbra.


	15. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: Star Fox © Nintendo. Original Content © Me (See A/N)

* * *

 **Chapter 14** : Tainted

* * *

Once Star Lynx had left with Slippy in tow, Miranda decided to give Justin a call, asking for John to keep his helmet on while Justin was around. She planned to bring him and Zee around to help, seeing as this was something they couldn't just do on their own at this point. John asked about it, "I thought you didn't like dealing with him?"

Miranda shrugged, "He may have his head up his own ass, but he's a capable fighter, and he can look past his own ego and popularity once in a while. Especially when it's something this serious. Zee, on the other hand, has experience with this kind of situation. He used to be a part of another group well before QuestForce, a small team called the Hot Rodders. He'd be a valuable ally to have on this."

With that in mind, she set to work getting in touch with the other two members of her team, and John was left to sit on one of the couches in the safe-house with Serrin. She was the first to comment, "John, answer me honestly… Do you like her?"

John blushed, "...I… I guess I do, somewhat."

Serrin looked up at Miranda, taking note of her brown fur and striking yellow eyes, "...Does she remind you of Sondra?"

John thought about it for a minute, "...Well, I guess I don't really know. I mean, she's nothing like Sondra. She's crude, she's blunt, and tends to be very rough even outside of training. But, she cares about her own, and has made any efforts possible to understand my situation." He thought for a bit longer, "I don't want to say that Sondra meant nothing to me. She meant the world. But, that was so long ago, and I knew her well enough to know that she'd want me to move on if it meant I'd be happy."

Serrin frowned, "You aren't just saying that to justify your own instincts, are you? If she loved you as much as you say, how can you know for sure?"

John stared at the ground, leaning forward on the couch, "I guess you're just gonna have to believe me. Or not. I won't tell you what to think about what I said, but I know what I think Sondra would've said or done. I don't intend to forget about her, trust me. But, like I said… Things are different now."

Serrin's frown lifted a bit, "Well, I did notice something changing with you, your confidence is becoming more apparent, ever since you started staying with her. When you gave me that speech a little while ago, it struck me as a huge departure from a week ago, when you were still waking up in tears from those nightmares."

John looked up at her, "I guess I just don't want to sit by and watch bad things happen anymore."

After a minute, John decided to ask, "Hey, Serrin? I was doing a bit of reading about the weapons included with the Starwing Armor, especially in light of this arsenal before us. I read about something called 'Skybreaker-'"

Serrin interrupted him, "Do not **ever** use that, John. It's an incredibly destructive power without the proper attachments to keep the Fusion engine in check. There are no ships that are capable of interacting with the Starwing armor here. They don't have the heat-sinks to absorb the tremendous amounts of energy from that configuration." She placed both hands on his shoulders, "John, that **will** kill you if you use it now. It would overload the Fusion engine and cause it to explode. Just, forget you ever heard about it. Please..."

* * *

It was a bit of a quick flight back to the _Livid Vixen_. While it normally accommodated the four R-7X Arwings that were pretty much standard for Star Lynx, there was plenty of room for at least three additional Arwings, like Slippy's own R-64 model. Once on-board, the team moved toward the bridge, where SADIE greeted them, "Welcome back, Star Lynx. I have kept the _Livid Vixen_ in peak condition since you've left." SADIE paused, "Please identify the guest on our ship."

Miyu glanced up at nobody in particular, wondering where SADIE's robotic avatar was, "This is Slippy Toad. He's going with us to Zoness. Speaking of which, set a course for Zoness, SADIE. We've got reason to believe something big is happening there."

SADIE simply replied, "Of course. I estimate a travel-time of three hours at maximum through hyperspace."

Slippy couldn't help looking around, "This is a nice ship. I'm impressed."

Fay blushed, "Well… it used to look a lot worse. But, I think I've done a good job keeping it in good condition."

Slippy's eyes widened, "You did all this by yourself? What was the ship like before?"

Fay glanced at Miyu, "Mind if I show him?"

Miyu shrugged, prompting Fay to ask SADIE to pull up an image of the ship from around four years ago. The derelict that showed up on the holographic screen shocked Slippy, "No way! That thing looks barely flightworthy! You really did all this?"

Fay nodded, beaming, "It was a big project that took me about six months of hard work every day. Fox didn't exactly leave us enough money to hire a group of engineers to help with that, or to buy our own. So, we kinda had to work whatever odd jobs we could to get the money to fix this thing up." She placed a hand on one of the walls of the bridge, "We've been able to have a few engineers come through recently to do a couple check-ups, but I've done most of the maintenance myself. I'm truly proud of how well this ship holds up against most forms of punishment used against it."

Slippy's mouth gaped in awe, "Wow! That is actually amazing!"

Miyu interrupted their conversation by asking Slippy, "Did Fox ever mention what he was going to Zoness for that was so important?"

Slippy paused, "Well… he said he was following up on something. A lead he had. But… he didn't really say anything about it."

Miyu's brow furrowed, "Really? Nothing at all?"

Slippy got the message, "Well- Uh- I did actually overhear him talking with Peppy some time before that. They were very quiet about it, but he said something about 'shadow creatures' and 'wanting to find the truth.'"

Miyu raised an eyebrow, then glanced at Saru, asking, "You think maybe…?"

Saru nodded, "Sounds like he might've been on the same trail we are now. If he was there, then there's a strong possibility that we might find him there… For better or for worse."

Miyu understood the implication. There was a possibility that they'd run into this 'Other Fox' while they were there, and that they had best be prepared to deal with him accordingly, especially if he was even half as dangerous as Saru had described. She nodded, "Alright." She turned to Fara, "Go check up on our armory. I wanna make sure that we're well-equipped to deal with whatever might be there. And while you're at it, make sure that we've got spare hazard suits. Last thing I want is for anyone to come down with a case of whatever fresh Hell diseases might be there."

Fara nodded, "Who's gonna stay on the ship while you're down on the surface?"

Miyu gestured toward her, "I want you to stay on the ship and keep an eye in the skies, in-case we meet any unwelcome guests to this party."

"Okay," Fara acknowledged the order as she left to check on the gear they'd need.

* * *

Zoness was at one point a beautiful aquatic world not unlike Aquas. She remembered seeing pictures taken from the planet surface back when she was in high-school, and remembered wanting to visit at some point. But, nowadays, it was in a state not unlike Eladard and Venom, a toxic, polluted wasteland teeming with uncatalogued, mutated, monstrous life-forms brought into being from various mutagenic bio-weapons and chemical influences left on the planet due to Andross's meddling. Multiple attempts have been made to try and clean the planet up, with mixed amounts of success.

There were isolated parts of the ocean that were starting to see better days, but only as a result of the somewhat haphazard placement of various filtration outposts established by Cornerian environmental protection groups, and mainly, these stations were used to catalogue the new life-forms present before they went extinct, or they overran the stations in question. Not too much was known about Zoness nowadays, only that it and other worlds like it were largely untouched by the Aparoids. It made Miyu wonder about that. In light of what they knew about the Aparoid species and it's origins, she couldn't help but wonder if Andross, or at least _their_ Andross, had known about the Aparoids and suspected that they couldn't thrive in such a toxic environment. She then dismissed that thought, suspecting that even if that was the case, he'd probably have no reason to try and terraform Venom into a new Garden of Lyla as some had put it.

Nevertheless, she wasn't exactly thrilled about stepping into such a dangerous environment herself, even if Fay had assured her that the hazard armor they were garbed in would keep any pathogens and toxic fumes from getting through their filters. As the _Livid Vixen_ slowly shrank in the distance, before being obscured by dark clouds. The subtle sound of raindrops hitting the canopy glass of the Arwing brought Miyu's attention back to their current objective. She contacted Slippy over comms, "Alright, where are we going?"

Slippy's voice came through a bit labored as he replied, "Filtration Outpost X13, it's where Fox went last time we came here. It's one of the few outposts still standing at this point. However, it was also abandoned three years ago when they discovered numerous security hazards that they were unable to patch quickly enough."

Miyu frowned at that, "So… the facility was overrun?"

"No," Slippy continued, "The automated systems are still running at their full capacity, as far as I'm aware, and from what Fox was able to relay before I lost contact with him briefly, the facility was still mostly intact, barring a few quarantined sections where weakened supports had finally given in."

Saru's voice came over the comms, "I think I see it now. Look ahead." Miyu looked up to see what looked like a large bubble standing out against the harsh weather. It was a simple atmospheric field, presumably being generated by the outpost itself as a means of providing a safe area for it's workers. The field stretched into the ocean around it, and the waters inside the field were a dark blue compared to the sickly greenish-yellow they had seen up until then. Saru commented, "Looks like someone's been here recently, check it out."

As they flew into the field and flew around the station for a landing platform, Miyu noticed a couple things. One was an R-64 Arwing, much like Slippy's, and next to it was an B-35 Wolven. Fay was the first to comment on that, "Star Wolf's here too?"

Miyu glanced around, expecting to see two more Wolvens closing in on them. She checked the scanner and found nothing, then commented, "Probably just one of them. The others might be in orbit still. Either way, I don't like it." They found a place to land on one of the other docks and and disembarked, immediately preparing whatever sidearms they brought with them.

The facility itself responded to their presence once they came up to one of the large hangar doors into the facility, sliding open to reveal an empty hangar where presumably, there were once several shuttles and submarine vehicles for exploring the waters. Miyu asked Slippy about it, "These facilities weren't exactly top-secret. However, they were normally off-limits except to civilian volunteers at the minimum. I suppose the facility's A.I. must think we're the emergency response team."

Fay looked around once they got into the facility and the hangar doors slid shut behind them, "If we can find a terminal, I can pull up a map of this entire facility, see if there's something worth hiding here."

Miyu glanced at Fay, then the rest of the squad, "Okay, we split into two teams. Slippy, you go with Saru. Fay, you'll stay with me. We split up and look for anything that might be key to understanding what Fox was looking for here. Maintain contact through comms, report anything suspicious, and if you find either Wolf or Fox..." She paused, knowing Slippy wasn't going to like this, "You are cleared hot."

Slippy, as expected, hesitated, "'Cleared hot?' Wolf, I can understand, but why Fox?"

Miyu glanced at Slippy, "He did lie to you and send you right into the path of a strafing run. However, there's a lot more going on that you realize." She turned to Saru, "Bring him up to speed, will you? Fay and I will go search for that terminal, you two see about looking into those quarantines."

* * *

It wasn't long after they had split into their teams that Fay had indeed managed to find a terminal she could access. She inserted a small flash-drive and linked the facility's database with SADIE, who set to work hacking the encryptions while she pulled up a map and took a look at the facility's layout. She soon noticed something interesting, "Miyu, come look at this."

Miyu followed her gesture and after a while, finally asked, "What am I supposed to be looking at?"

Fay gestured to the layout, "This facility has been extensively modified, and recently as well. Take a look." She gestured to a series of areas on the lower part of the map that were highlighted in orange, "These are the filtration systems. They take the polluted water in, filter the toxic chemicals out, and store them in these large drums for freighters to pick up and take to a disposal station somewhere in orbit. But… These filters haven't been working in at least eight, maybe nine months, and those chemical drums I mentioned have been disconnected from the rest of the filtration systems." She gestured to the large, cylindrical rooms as they switch highlights with the filtration systems highlighted, "They've been connected to the main part of the facility instead, and extensively modified from what I can tell. They're not being used as chemical storage, there's heavy-duty security systems and reinforcements there now. It makes me think that whoever modified the station this extensively wanted to build some kind of containment for something here."

Miyu raised an eyebrow, "Why here? Why put a prison on this planet?"

Fay shook her head, "I dunno, but whatever it is, a prison located somewhere like, say, Corneria, wouldn't probably not be enough for it. If it presumably broke out, it would probably be killed by the toxins and diseases, or the local life-forms here, or it would at least be slowed down here. Take a look at these." She pointed out a series of devices attached to the makeshift prisons, "These are warning beacons, like the kind you find in Sector Z and other planetary nebulae. Presumably, if whatever is contained in there got out, they'd turn on, providing early warning to any passing ships and eventually alerting whoever built this prison."

Miyu checked her comms, "Did you two catch all of that?"

Saru acknowledged, "It's possible that this may have been what Fox was looking for."

Slippy chipped in, "You mean the _real_ Fox, right? He must've been on the trail of this imposter when he came here."

Saru replied with a somewhat stern tone, "That Fox is still the genuine article. But he's not the same Fox that is native to this time-line. He's from my time-line, like I said before."

Slippy scoffed, "You know, I still don't really believe that whole thing about you being an alternate Andross fighting extradimensional monsters and all that. I think you're completely crazy. But, you may still have a point about the imposter."

Miyu growled, "Trust me, he's telling the whole truth, Slippy. We've seen enough crazy things in our life at this point it's not really far-fetched at all." She then returned her attention to Fay, "Any idea what's inside those rooms yet?"

Fay's hands flew across the holographic keyboard as she pulled up the files SADIE had cracked open so far, "Hmm… There's nothing in this database, but if I understand this correctly, there's video feed of the contents themselves. As well as relevant files that we may find useful."

Miyu raised an eyebrow, "Well, what are you waiting for?"

Fay typed on the keyboard again, only to get a red notice, "They're on their own network. Only way I could access the video feeds is from the security office, or to find the server that they're connected to."

Miyu looked at the map, "Any idea where the security office might be?"

Fay pulled up the location, "Here." She pointed toward one of the rooms on the lower deck, "We should have a relatively straight shot to it from here." She typed on the keyboard again, "The server should be in there as well, if we need to get to it."

Miyu shook her head, "Something about that seems just too easy."

Fay nodded, "Indeed. We should be very careful."

* * *

Despite their concerns, the path to the security office was without any problems, and when they got there, they met with Slippy and Saru, who elected to remain outside while the duo took care of things. Once inside, Fay tapped into the network and began pulling up files, "Says here that there was a recovery team that came here before us. And they found something that… Wait… According to this, they didn't rebuild the containers as a prison, they built it as a safe. There's something that they thought was of immense value in there, and not in a monetary sense. Something vital that they couldn't just take with them."

She pulled up an archived video, showing inside one of the drums. In the center, held by a series of devices emitting a containment field, was a shimmering, blue orb of light emitting a fog-like energy from it. A voice-over caught their attention, "This mysterious object we found possesses unique restorative properties that even the most advanced modern science can't replicate. One of the members of our team, a senior executive who used to be bound to a wheelchair as he was born without legs due to a genetic defect, was unintentionally exposed to it when we first discovered it. Not only did it give him working legs, but it strengthened his core nervous system to not only accept the new appendages, but work as if he'd always had them."

"This artifact also seemed to be capable of not only completely purging the toxins found in the seawater here, but it appeared to be capable of fully reverting the mutations brought on by the bio-weapons left here, as several of the mutated life-forms here seemed to immediately lose their mutations upon exposure to this artifact's energy. However, we can't move this artifact from here because of what it's done with the healthier members of our team. Upon exposure to it's energy, several of them reported seeing visions of another realm, supposedly inhabited by violent shadow creatures. And it's left some sort of imprint in their brains. A signal that seems to contain blueprints for an exceptionally advanced version of the Orbital Gates we use now, and coordinates that should be impossible."

"Nobody knows if these are legitimate or not, but that doesn't matter, because all individuals exposed seem to be driven into a suicidal hysteria after anywhere from three to five hours after exposure. Even that senior officer I mentioned had to be restrained to keep himself from caving his own skull in. And after I'm done with this recording, I'll put in for restraint myself. I'm starting to see the symbols, the equations, the blueprints, and the shadow creatures. They're hungry, and they want our world. Which is why I'm making this recording as a means to tell you that… If you've found this place and gotten this far, do not let this artifact come back to Corneria. The medical benefits it brings are outweighted by the mental problems it's causing. It's part of a force we don't understand, one that we should've let stay hidden."

The voice-over ended and the video cut off as Miyu and Fay glanced at each other, before asking Saru to come in to take a look. Fay pulled up another video feed, this one a current feed from the actual vault itself. Saru noticed the object and recognized it, "That's a Pure Soul!"

They glanced at him as he explained, "It's the soul of a Cerinian from my world, who bonded with the energy of my world's version of the Krazoa, becoming an exceptionally powerful being who first fought back those shadows, but only by sacrificing herself in the process to seal them away. I found it afterwards, when my Fox had unleashed those creatures on that other time-line. I thought I could use it to stop the creatures, since they seemed afraid of it, but then he stole it from me. I guess this is where he hid it."

Fay looked up at him, "Why hide it instead of destroying it?"

Saru stared at the screen for a while, "I don't know. Maybe he needs it as leverage to control the creatures? Or maybe he can't destroy it."

They were interrupted when Slippy's voice came over the comms, "Hey, do you three think you could come out for a minute? I need some assistance."

Outside the office, they saw a familiar figure. A lupine clad in blue armorweave, with a singular, cyan-glowing, robotic eye as a contrast to his other natural eye, and wearing a faded brown trench-coat. Miyu was the first to draw her pistol, "What are you doing here, O'Donnell?"

Wolf stepped out of the shadows, a grim expression on his face, "I could ask you the same thing. Star Fox must be pretty desperate if they're bringing in another mercenary team." He paused, before saying, "I wouldn't blame you, at this point. I..." He hesitated, as if his reputation was on the line, "I need your help as well."

Miyu lowered her pistol, "Why us? Why not get those cartels you work with to help you?"

Wolf looked away, "They don't understand the scope of what's really going on." He met Miyu's gaze, "I assume you know about the shadow creatures? And the fact that Fox isn't himself?"

Miyu glanced at Saru as he stepped forward, "Then you got my warning about what was going on?"

Wolf pursed his lips for a moment, "I didn't believe it at first, but circumstances have changed. Fox openly attacked the Sargasso Hideout, but not the way we'd normally expect him to." He paused, "What he did… that was not Fox. I was lucky to escape with my colleagues, or at least, the few who didn't seem to go into a psychotic break when he appeared." Saru waited for him to continue, "Somehow, the few he didn't kill that couldn't evacuate with Star Wolf seemed to become almost devoted to him, like he'd done something to their heads."

Saru commented on that, "Most likely, he has. Those shadow creatures will need hosts for the initial invasion, just long enough for the sacrifices to take place."

Wolf grimaced, "And that's when the Rift Storm opens, like you described?"

Saru nodded, "That's why we need to find out everything we can and stop him before he gets any farther."

Miyu glanced at Slippy as he commented, "How did Fox kill them?"

Wolf looked away, "...He tore them apart… Like a wild animal. And when he killed them, he took their forms as if to mock the survivors. He moved like a shadow and left his victims dry husks."

Everyone's eyes collectively widened at the description. Wolf held up a keycard, "I swiped this from one of the locker rooms. It should give you access to those vaults. I'd go in myself, but even I can't handle shadow monsters if they're in there."

Fay's com-link suddenly rang and when she checked, it was SADIE, "I have located something that I think would be of interest to all of you." The screen flashed to another video feed of one of the other vaults, and everyone recognized the dangling figure in there.

* * *

Sure enough, inside the vault in question, arms tied above his head, hanging from a rope tied to the ceiling, and stark naked, was Fox McCloud. When they opened the vault to look inside, Miyu readied her EE-40, "Be on your guard."

They did a quick scan of the room, before Slippy rushed over to Fox after they had cleared the room. He looked up at the bound and unconscious vulpine, before glancing at Wolf, who walked up to the bound vulpine, then, after a pause, slapped him on the face. Slippy recoiled in shock as Fox suddenly shook his head, eyes wide and frantic. He recognized Slippy and settled a bit, before recognizing Wolf. He was silent, before commenting, "Finally here to kill me, faker?"

Wolf's brow furrowed, "I'm the real thing. The question is, are you really Fox McCloud? Because you've got a lot to answer for, otherwise."

Fox snarled, "Of course I'm the real me! Now, are you gonna get it over with or am I going to have to endure this for much longer?"

Wolf glanced at Miyu, then at Slippy, before pulling out his DC-15 and using the bayonet to cut the ropes binding him. Fox landed in an unceremonious heap on the floor. He began undoing his binds and after a moment, tried to get up, pausing with Wolf walked up to him, "You gonna start gloating about how you bested me this time, or what?"

Growling, Wolf bent down, reaching under Fox's arm and hoisting him to his feet, "I'm getting you out of here, you ungrateful shit."

Saru stepped in, "Look, as much as I'd love to stay for the touching reunion, we still need to get into the other Vault. There's something in there that we need to get, that I think we can use."

Wolf nodded, "That 'Pure Soul' thing you were talking about earlier, right?"

Saru nodded, "You catch on quick. Now, I don't know if any of you can handle it, but I've been able to hold it in the past, I think maybe because it comes from my world. But, I don't think I should go alone." He turned to Fay and Miyu, "Think you two can come with me, just in case?"

* * *

The second Vault wasn't hard to miss, it was right below Fox's impromptu cell. When they opened it, the trio were greeted by the sight of the orb, shinning, the containment field shorting out as Saru stepped into it's light. Fog-like tendrils seemed to extend outward from it toward him, gently embracing him as the orb pulled itself closer to him, phasing into his body. Once the two had become one, Saru turned to Miyu, who asked him, "Uh… You still with us, Saru?"

Saru nodded, "The Pure Soul has accepted me as a temporary host, it seems. I assume it senses the danger we're in."

A voice came over the P.A. to reply, "It assumed correctly then."

Fox, garbed in some of the clothes he'd found in the locker room, along with the remainder of the group, rushed into the Vault as a large HV screen appeared on the wall of one of the Vaults, showing a heavily scarred face that looked undeniably similar to Fox. 'Fox' proceeded to sneer at the group, "And now, I've got all of you right where I want you, and nothing can stop me from taking this system."

Fox, the real one, stepped forward, "Who are you really? And why are you so bent on destroying the Lylat System?"

The imposter looked offended, "'Destroy?' Oh, I'm afraid you've got it completely wrong. I'm not here to destroy this system, I'm here to transform it." A black and red, fog-like aura swirled around him as underneath the fog, his features shifted, altering drastically. When the fog dispersed, the figure not only looked more reptilian in appearance, with blood-red eyes, but now 'he' had two large, leathery wings, and a feminine appearance. The figure spoke again, her voice carrying a hint of otherworldly tongues that seemed to cause a reaction in the very foundations of the facility, "You see, I'm just a humble servant of our lord, Kalimo! And through his power, and the will of the Tainted, we will transform this world like we have with the other one, to create the first steps of a true paradise for our kind! Of course, it means we'll have to exterminate all of you first." An alarm rang out as the figure shifted back into the form she had of 'Fox' and sneered, "The game was fun while it lasted, Andross, but unfortunately for you, I'm calling Checkmate."

With that, the screen disappeared, replaced with a countdown timer. The group immediately scrambled into action, rushing through the facility as it began going into lockdown. They could hear explosions, followed by a rush of water and realized what had happened. Whoever that figure was, she had detonated charges in the facility and now it was struggling to initiate a quarantine as the toxic waters were now rushing into the half-submerged facility. Nevertheless, the group was able to reach their starships in time and leave the outpost as a second set of explosives detonated, sinking the outpost and causing the atmospheric field to collapse.

* * *

Back in orbit, Star Lynx had returned to the _Livid Vixen_ itself, while Slippy, Fox, and Wolf remained in their starships, idle outside of it. Slippy was the first to break the silence, "So, what are we going to do now?"

Saru answered his question, "Slippy, I'll need you to try and trace that broadcast signal if you can. If we can find the origins of that signal, we might stand a chance if we can get to..." Saru paused. In all his time chasing after who he thought was his Fox McCloud, he hadn't expected what had just occurred. He'd never seen that person before, never even heard of the name 'Kalimo.' He shook his head, "We can stop the invasion before it starts."

Fox spoke out in response, "And how are we supposed to do that? These are monsters that devour entire star systems! For fun! Right now, we're at Ground Zero for their next meal. We may as well try and get as far away as we can, and maybe we'll live long enough to get away from them."

There was a long, tense silence before Miyu finally spoke up, "Fox J. McCloud… I am appalled. That kind of cowardice I could expect from someone like Panther or even Falco. What happened to the hero of the Lylat System that suddenly he'd rather turn tail and run?"

Fox growled back at her, "Why do you care what happens to this system anymore? This system has done nothing but throw people like us away as soon as we're no longer needed! What has the Lylat System ever done for us?"

Wolf butted into the argument, "Because we're the idiots who live here, Fox. Like it or not, this is our home, and the only home we've ever known. We lose that, and we are space dust. If you want to leave and wander the endless expanses of space until you starve to death, be my guest. But, I'm staying. I don't care for what this system thinks of me, it's my home too."

Miyu paused, her expression grim, before adding, "We're all in this together now. Fleeing won't change the outcome. But staying and fighting just might." She looked up and out at the Arwing in question, "Even a slim chance of success is still a chance that we've gotta take. We leave this system to it's fate and that chance becomes nothing. Besides, even if we fled and had somewhere to go, there is no guarantee that those creatures won't find us eventually."

It was Slippy who finally spoke up, "Fox, I have loved ones that I want to see again. I may not be the best pilot of Star Fox, but I'm still just as willing to fight as everyone else is."

Fox was silent for a while, before finally admitting, "Fine. You have a point. I guess there's really no other way, then."

Everyone remained silent after that, before Wolf spoke up, "I'm going to rally with the rest of Star Wolf, along with whoever else may still be loyal. Slippy, if you'd be so kind as to keep us in the loop about that signal trace, we'll be ready for whatever comes next."

Miyu followed up after him, "I have some allies back on Corneria that I'll get in touch with. We'll be ready within an hour."

Fox finally gave in, "I'll try and get in touch with Peppy, see if he can use his ties with the Military to lend Star Fox some extra firepower. Maybe together we'll have the edge to fight back the invasion if we're too late to stop the Rift from opening."

Saru spoke up, "If anyone has any affairs left, I suggest we take the time to get them in order… We may not get another chance." On that foreboding note, everyone departed to get ready.

* * *

A/N

→ Original Content (QuestForce & associated characters) used with permission. Credit goes to Tobias Umbra.


	16. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: Star Fox © Nintendo. Original Content © Me (See A/N)

* * *

 **Chapter 15** : Darkened Horizon

* * *

Miranda nodded, before ending her call and turning to the group assembled around her. Justin, looking smug, was still attempting to flirt with Serrin, while Zee seemed mostly interested in the arsenal, and John… John seemed mostly just uncomfortable. After what he had explained to her about psychic drift, she couldn't help but wonder if he was experiencing another one of those 'drifts' he had talked about. She cleared her throat, getting their attention, and declared, "There is something big coming. We need to get ready to go and meet with Star Fox and several other teams."

Justin waved his hand, "What's up? Did the Eladard Prime Minister decide he wanted to throw a party or something?"

Miranda growled at him, "This is a matter of life or extinction, Justin. You better fucking take it seriously." Justin's eyes widened and he immediately shut up, but not before crossing his arms and glaring at her. She continued, "If anyone here has any affairs they'd like to get in order, feel free to do so. If you don't want to go with us, feel free to stay behind as well."

Justin scoffed, "Of course I'll go. It'll be great publicity if we can get some footage of our heroics."

Zee paused, "...You think I'll get to see Katthrine again? It has been a while since we've spoken."

Serrin stood tall, Starwing Armor somehow making her look a bit imposing in the dim light of the safe-house, "It's our job to protect the weak, no matter the cost."

John looked at everyone, the just nodded, "I'm ready whenever you are, captain."

Miranda smirked, "Captain? I like the sound of that. Alright, everyone, get to your starships, we leave in 5." As the group departed, she grabbed John along the way and said, "Except you, there's one thing I need to ask you."

John stared into her eyes, "Yeah?"

Miranda hesitated for a moment, not sure about how to go about it. Eventually, she just gave in and pulled him in for a quick kiss. John, although initially surprised, went along with the kiss and wrapped his arms around her. After a few seconds, they let go of each other and Miranda commented, "I didn't want to lose that chance, John. Promise me that you'll come back alive."

John raised an eyebrow, "You're not coming?"

Miranda shook her head, "Of course I'm coming. I'll watch your back if you'll watch mine. Just promise me you won't miss if things take a turn for the worse. I wanna take as many of those fuckers with me as I can if it does happen."

* * *

Fara glanced at her cell-phone. The holographic screen showed a picture of her father. She bit back some tears that were threatening to fall and dialed him up. He answered on the third ring, "Phoenix Interstellar, you've reached the executive office, can I help you?"

"Hey Dad… It's Fara."

"Well, well! It's great to hear from ya, my little angel! How's it going?"

Fara took a deep breath, before adding, "Something's… come up. Something big. Listen, I just wanted to let you know, Dad… I love you."

"Fara? Sweetie, what's going on?"

Tears began falling as, in a shaky voice, she finally force the words out, "Take care of mom, okay?" With that, she hung up, before falling to her knees and buried her face in her arms, trying to come to terms with the possibility that she might never see her parents again, or her teammates, for that matter.

* * *

With his two teammates and the few hardiest allies who were still alive and loyal to his team, Wolf led the squad through warp on the return path to the rendezvous point when his com-link opened, a private channel between him and Leon, "Wolf, listen… I don't know if I ever properly thanked you for helping me through that tough spot back in my childhood."

Wolf's mouth twitched in a half-smile, "Just doing what anyone else would in my situation."

Leon frowned, "Wolf… I've always harbored a crush towards you, y'know. It's just, I've never told you before because I've never really had the courage before."

Wolf chuckled, "This coming from the guy who's not afraid of spilling another man's guts over poker." He frowned suddenly, "Hate to break it to ya', but I'm straight as a pole. But..." He hesitated, wondering briefly if this was Leon just messing with him, "If we make it through this alive, I may be willing to… entertain a few hours alone with ya."

Leon smiled, a genuine smile that wasn't hiding some sort of malicious intent behind it, "Thank you, Wolf."

As the private call ended, Wolf found himself muttering aloud, "No problem..."

* * *

With Fox's return and the information about their situation now out in the open, everyone was scrambling to get ready when ROB informed them, "We have an incoming call from an unidentified source."

Fox glanced out the bridge of the _Great Fox_ , "On screen."

An HV projection appeared of a familiar vixen garbed in black armorweave, and wearing a faded tan hooded cloak, which she pulled down to reveal dark, purple hair, "Hello, Fox."

His eyes widened when he recognized that voice, "...Krystal?" He quickly regained his composure, "It's been a while, hasn't it?" When she didn't say anything, he stared at the ground, "I'm sorry things went the way they did… I made a real ass of myself at that bar, didn't I?"

Krystal nodded, "That you did." She remained steadfast, "But… We're not here to talk about the past. There are more urgent matters at hand, and you'll need all the help you can get. Peppy told me that he'd convinced the SDF to join the fight. I want in, at least for this."

Fox's first instinct was to tell her that it was too dangerous, but he saw the look in her eyes and knew she wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer, "...Alright. For this mission."

The corner of her mouth curved upward, "Thanks, Fox."

* * *

Miyu breathed heavily, the warmth of Fay's body on top of her as they relaxed in light of their recent fling. Fay finally rolled off of Miyu and rested next to her, nearly breathless as she muttered, "Almost… as good as the first time… huh?"

Miyu smiled, "Yeah… I'm glad we got to do this again, Fay."

Fay suddenly frowned, "Miyu… With all this going on… I don't know if I'm actually ready for this. I mean, if we fail…" She trailed off, but Miyu knew exactly what she meant.

Miyu reached over and placed a hand on Fay's cheek, "Hey, I promise. We won't fail. And after this, we're booking a vacation on Sauria. I've heard that it's nice this time of year." In a low voice, she added, "And I promise, we are gonna have so much sex that you won't be able to walk for a week."

Fay blushed, grinning, "...You better make good on that promise, then."

* * *

The rendezvous point was at Corneria's Orbital Gate, which saw the arrival of several parties, up to and including various smugglers and pirates appearing alongside groups such as the Cornerian SDF and the CSB's private armada. QuestForce soon warped in alongside the likes of Star Fox, Star Wolf, and Star Lynx. Slippy soon appeared on a com-link between the mercenary groups, "I've got the signal origin. Here's the coordinates."

Krystal, John, and Serrin recognized the coordinates as soon as they saw them, with Krystal commenting, "Those are… I know those coordinates!"

"That's… That's Cerinia's coordinates!" Serrin's eyes widened as she went over them, being one of the two beings not in an actual ship, but instead flying alongside John in her Starwing Armor.

Slippy took note of that, "Must be where this Rift is. Broadcasting coordinates to the fleets now."

With that, the Orbital Gate was given the coordinates and after a few minutes, the portal spun into existence, the crackling of exotic energies showing the slight strain of normal space to accommodate the increased spatial pressure. The fleet began entering the portal, prepared for what may be their final stand.

Inside Hyperspace, nobody said a word as the fleet soon reached their destination, and when they came out of the portal, they were greeted with the sight of a dense field of asteroids and planetary debris. Krystal was the first to break the silence, "...I had hoped never to see this again..."

Serrin stopped, awestruck at the destruction, before realizing what Krystal meant, "Wait… you mean… This is Cerinia?"

Krystal solemnly nodded, "What's left of it…" She turned serious, "Alright, keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Presumably, any large device like an Orbital Gate."

John pointed forward, deeper into the debris field, "Would that count as suspicious?"

Following his gesture into the debris field, everyone soon saw a massive, strange ring-like device. It had to be at least twice the size of a Orbital Gate, and in it's construction, it seemed to follow a bizarre aesthetic of thorns and tendrils curved into a vaguely demonic appearance. Swarming around it were figures emanating a red light, but partially obscured by a shadowy fog. The figures soon took notice of the assembled fleet and began swarming together.

Serrin bent her fingers into a specific pattern, calling out her Subspace Aperture and pulling out one of the Starwing Weapons, a large, circular cannon with several rotating, gear-like plates with glowing, blue segments. John followed her lead by summoning his own Point-Break Cannon. She muttered aloud, "Here comes the welcoming party."

The fleet began flying forward to meet this adversary. The two forces clash together and immediately, several of the smaller ships were immediately overtaken by the shadow creatures as they phased into the plating of the ship, consuming the pilots and transforming them into additional units of their swarm. However, while the initial attack was in their favor, the fleet's weaponry was able to keep them at bay, the high-powered lasers and missile fire either vaporizing most of the creatures outright, or else injuring them enough to force them back.

Amidst the fighting, Saru noticed something and called it out to the other mercs, "Look! Remnants!"

The familiar crimson armored flagships of the Venomian Remnants were soon warping in, with a voice calling out to the Fleet, "Cease your struggle, and your death shall come on swift and merciful wings."

Saru commented on it, "They must be the hosts that they'll use for the sacrifice! We have to stop them from reaching that portal! If even one of them makes it, it'll be enough to create a Rift Storm!"

John stared ahead at the armada, "How do we do that?"

A trio of B-35 Wolvens flew overhead with Wolf replying, "How else? We blow them up before they reach the gate!"

Serrin tapped John on the shoulder, "You and I will go with them. If we can intercept them now, we'll be able to hold them back at least until the rest of the fleet can make it to the gate and destroy it."

John nodded and the two followed Star Wolf as they were soon joined by a small band of mixed ships, both pirate and military, to meet the Remnants head-on.

As the firefight continued, a voice came in over their comms, "So nice of you to join us for the welcoming party, Miyu."

Miyu recognized the shapeshifter's voice, "How do you know my name?"

The creature appeared on-screen, taking a form that she recognized. It was the Venomian Remnant she had agreed to take off-world with her, "Mel?"

'Mel' sneered, "I played that part pretty well, didn't I? Thank you for getting me off-world, by the way. That troublesome A.I.'s power had somehow suppressed my power briefly, enough that I couldn't just leave under my own power. It was a bit difficult to find a decent meal after that pesky little nanovirus ate everything else. Reminded me a bit too much of home. But, that's all in the past, so, as thanks for being so helpful for me, I'd like to offer you something."

Miyu didn't bother, "Whatever it is, you can shove it up your ass. We're killing you, here and now!"

Mel frowned, "Awe, that's such a shame. I think you would've made a great concubine, between you and all those handsome bodies you brought with you."

"Just shut up and die already!" Miyu snarled as she launched a charged shot toward a cluster of the creatures, vaporizing most of them and causing the rest to flee.

Mel sneered, "I could say the same to you," as she suddenly materialized on top of her Arwing's canopy. The shapeshifter pulled back her fist and Miyu realized what she was about to do when something suddenly exploded from her side, causing her to flinch. Miyu immediately through her Arwing into an aileron roll, flinging the shapeshifter off.

Falco's voice came through, "You alright there, Stripes? Bit of a close call, there."

Miyu looked back to see the shapeshifter vanish into a mist-form similar to the other creatures and managed to say, "I'm fine. Don't call me 'Stripes.'"

* * *

The Remnant ships themselves were quite weak, but the sheer number of them was frustratingly high. Serrin eventually put away her Point-Break Cannon and called out another weapon, the Plasmatic Cleaver, a long, rectangular sword outlined with a vibrant glow of blue energy. With it, she was carving through the Remnant ships with relative ease, as the plasma-lined blade slashed through their armor without resistance, disabling most of the ships and killing the pilots outside of the range of the Rift Gate.

The larger flagships, however, became the rest of the group's concern, save for the military ships that were aiding Serrin. John's Point-Break Cannon, a Starwing weapon that could punch through dense asteroids as part of it's original design, was able to puncture their armor, but it barely seemed to slow the ships as they continued anyway, despite their extensive damage.

Serrin was caught off-guard however when one of the creatures that the main part of the fleet was occupied with flew past her, hijacking one of the SDF ships. She heard the pilot struggling as the ship promptly pulled a U-turn and headed straight for the Rift Gate. She called it out, "That ship's been hijacked! Stop it!"

The remaining pirates and military starcraft tried to intercept the hijacked starfighter, but were unable to keep up as it expertly maneuvered out of the line of fire. Serrin watched in horror as the starfighter flew right into the center of the Rift Gate, getting caught in a seemingly invisible field as the pilot began screaming in pain. The starfighter shook violently as arcs of a red energy began swirling around it, tearing it apart suddenly, causing an explosion that was soon followed by a violet sphere forming within the gate, with black and purple shapes swarming around inside the vortex. Serrin stared ahead, eyes widened in fear as she muttered, "We're too late..."

* * *

John turned around to observe the opening Rift, as arcs of energy seemed to lance out, catching one of the pirate dreadnoughts and ripping it to shreds in a matter of seconds, the debris flying toward the Rift. In a moment of clarity, he had an idea and began flying toward the Rift Storm, Point-Break Cannon ready. He was soon confronted by Serrin's voice over their comms, "John! What do you think you're doing?!"

John opened a holographic interface and began executing a procedure. He paused and opened a communication with the rest of the mercs, before resuming his flight, "Miranda, Miyu, Serrin… These past couple weeks have been the best couple weeks of my life."

Miranda sounded confused, "John, what do you..."

Serrin interrupted him, "John, I know what you're planning! Don't do it! There's no way it'll work!"

John simply replied, "Serrin, promise me one thing… Don't cry, please..." Even as he spoke that, tears were streaming down his face. He cut off the comms before she could protest, and continued with the procedure, ignoring the warnings. He flew to what he assumed was close enough to the Rift. He could see the purple and black tendrils reaching out toward him, and he was terrified. But, it didn't stop him, as he tapped the front of his cuirass, causing it to open up into a large, circular port, with the residual light of his armor's Fusion engine glowing from within. He held the Point-Break Cannon out in front of him, mechanical tendrils stretching out and connecting the cannon, opening up the stock to reveal a connection port. The four wing-like G-controllers detached themselves from his back, flipping around and reattaching themselves to the cannon.

Saru observed the opening Rift Storm with fear as tendrils began to emerge from the gate, each tendril soon evaporating into a miniature rift that more of the shadow creatures would swarm through. He soon noticed a glow emanating from himself and watched as the Pure Soul, which he was still holding onto, detached from his body, phasing through the canopy glass and shooting out toward the Rift Storm. He then noticed that John was at the forefront of the portal, his armor arranged in a strange way that he had never seen before. The Pure Soul sought him out and phased into his armor.

John felt a presence around him as he reached out and grabbed the handles of the Skybreaker. He felt something guiding his hands, comforting him as he did, and for a moment, he could've sworn he heard a voice speaking to him, "Don't be afraid."

He thought he recognized the voice, "Sondra...?" He shook himself back into reality as a message appeared on his screen, showing the Skybreaker was fully-charged and ready to fire. He didn't hesitate, pressing the buttons on each handle of the Skybreaker and launching a powerful beam of white light. An internal alarm began blaring at him as he felt the heat rising rapidly inside his suit. The beam soon struck the Rift Storm, and he heard an unearthly shriek in his mind as the creatures on the Other Side were caught off-guard by the blast. Tendrils of shadow reached out at him, only to be repelled as his Fusion engine overloaded and the world went white for him.

* * *

...When John opened his eyes, he found himself floating in what felt like space, but something was different. He could see fog-like tendrils of black and purple swirling around him and he knew he wasn't in his realm anymore. He looked around as the monsters seemed to dissipate, and a comforting, blue light soon began to shine amid the darkness. He looked up and saw a figure clad in elegant, ivory armor with golden embroideries and designs adorning the exceptionally smooth armor. The being looked down at him and in an instant, he felt at ease as the being spoke in a soft, quiet tone, "You've done well. You've stopped the Rift Storm. And, delivered to me the means to finally destroy the Kramuta forever." The figure looked forward, above John, and spoke, "Now, it's time for you to finally relax. You have someone waiting for you..."

He looked behind him and saw a familiar form. A white-furred Cerinian, with blue eyes and a grateful smile as she held her hand out to him. He held out his hand to Sondra, calling out, "I'm coming home, Sondra!"

She took his hand and pulled him out of his broken, fragmented armor and into an embrace, comforting him, "Welcome home, John..."

* * *

Serrin screamed John's name as she watched the Skybreaker go critical, exploding in a brilliant orb of light. However, as the release occurred, she noticed the Rift Storm suddenly reeling in what seemed like pain, as if the beam had actually cut through it. The Rift Storm suddenly began to shrink, pulling the shadow creatures with it. Everyone watched as the monsters were pulled into the portal, followed by the Rift Gate itself being torn apart and sucked into the swirling energy mass as it imploded, evaporating into a harmless release of energy.

There was a long pause, before one of the surviving SDF Commanders spoke, "He did it..." Soon, there were cheers followed among the comms as various starfighters still alive began celebrating their victory.

Miranda stared ahead, tears beginning to fall, "...You promised you'd come back..." She looked away and wiped her tears, before managing to crack a smile, "...Heh… Well, you saved us all…" She stared at the empty debris field where the Rift Gate once stood, "I won't forget you, John."

Serrin, however, seemed to take it much worse, as she broke into tears, curling up and muttering aloud, "...Why…? Why did you have to do that, John…? Why did you have to leave me alone?" She looked up and stared at the debris field, "You left me with nothing… You… You..." She couldn't finish her sentence as she turned around and began to fly away, forcing open a small warp for herself and vanishing through it.

Miyu stared at the empty space, listening as the various pirate and SDF forces began swarming toward the remaining Remnants, apparently having decided to put aside their differences for this one last task. She couldn't help but feel like this was somehow all her fault. Then, as if reading her mind, a com-link with Krystal opened up, "It isn't your fault. You couldn't have known who she was."

Miyu wiped away a couple tears of her own, "I guess… Our original mission was to rescue the three of them from stasis and bring them here to reintegrate them into society… I guess we failed that, now..."

Krystal simply grinned, "John did a brave deed, Miyu. And Serrin is still alive, you haven't failed in your mission."

Miyu looked down at her legs, lost in thought, "You're right… But… That doesn't change the fact that he's gone now."

There was a call from the various commanders, signifying that the Orbital Gate over Cerinia was opening back up, and that they were leaving. Without saying anything else, the fleet, with the captured Remnants in tow, went back through the portal, ready to return home.

* * *

A/N

→ Original Content (QuestForce & associated characters) used with permission. Credit goes to Tobias Umbra.


	17. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: Star Fox © Nintendo. Original Content © Me (See A/N)

* * *

 **Chapter 16** : All That Remains...

* * *

It had been a few days since the media was now calling the Battle at Cerinia's Grave. There had been some initial debriefings about the situation, and a few honorary ceremonies, but this was the official one. Miyu felt a bit nervous. She had dressed her best for this one, seeing as she'd heard that the head of Parliament himself would be there. And when she looked out into the crowd, she saw so many familiar faces that she got a bit nervous, although when she saw the cybernetic optics of the Eladard Prime Minister, she felt somewhat at ease, knowing how supportive he was of Star Lynx. She retreated int the back-room as Fay was finishing straightening out her combat vest and asked, "How do I look?"

Fay turned and smirked, "Like you've been through Hell and back." Miyu frowned and Fay chuckled, "Sorry. You look fine, Miyu. Remember, they're presenting the awards and as far I know, Peppy's gonna be doing all the talking. Once we're given our medals, we'll be dismissed and then we're free to do whatever we want."

Miyu fidgeted, "That'd be nice. We could take an actual vacation, just like I promised."

When they were called up onto the stage, Miyu looked around and, sure enough, she made eye-contact with the Eladardian Prime Minister, who nodded and gave her two thumbs-up. That made her feel more at ease as the Head of Parliament presented her with her medal, tenderly putting it around her neck and commending her, before moving on to Fay, and then the remaining two members of Star Lynx. Afterwards, they were dismissed after their heroics were recognized and with a small bow, Miyu led her team off-stage. Along the way back to their skyvan, she saw another familiar cybernetic eye and raised an eyebrow. "Wolf? Didn't expect to find you here."

Wolf gave her a cocky half-smile, "Well, I couldn't miss out on this one. Thanks for your help back there."

Miyu glanced at the others, "We should be thanking you for your assistance. But..." She paused and looked around, before asking, "What are you doing here?"

Wolf chuckled, "Well, Peppy certainly knows a thing or two about buttering up politicians. He convinced them to pardon us in exchange for us going legit. A lot of our people who participated have been pardoned for past transgressions, so we're actually going to go legit now."

Panther huffed, "Speak for yourself."

* * *

She wasn't sure what planet this was, but at the moment, she didn't care. This desert was where she wanted to be. There was nobody around who could hurt her again, or take away everything she loved. She had nothing left at this point, and as far as she was concerned, this whole system could burn. She felt hot in her armor, but the heat barely meant anything to her in her seething anger. Eventually, she wondered if she should just give in and let this world take her. Those thoughts were interrupted by a sudden incoming communication, which she answered. A blue-furred fox appeared on-screen and addressed her, "Serrin, right?"

Her face contorted into a snarl, "Who are you? Why do you care?"

The figure introduced himself, "I am Patriarch Zarius. I'm the leader of a colony that escaped Cerinia." At the mention of Cerinia, her features softened as he continued, "We are thriving, but this boon is not without it's risks. We need your help… your power. If you wish to speak more about this… Meet at these coordinates..." She took note of the coordinates as he added one final note, "Planet Kew… you will find us there. I look forward to speaking with you in person..." With that, the connection ended and she stared up at Lylat, before deciding that she would go for it.

* * *

A/N

→ Original Content (QuestForce & associated characters) used with permission. Credit goes to Tobias Umbra.


End file.
